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THE LIVES 

OF THE NOBLE Gre- 
cians AND ROMANES, COMPARED 

tmtherby thatgraue learned ^hilofipher and HiHoriogrO' 
pher, Tlutar]^of Qiterenea: 

TninflatedoutofGreekeimo French bylAMES AMYOT,AbbotofBeIlo:tane^ 

Bishop of Auxerre,one of the KingsjJiiuy counfeljand great Amner 

ofFrauace^andoutof^enchintoEnglishe^by 




Imprintedat London By Thomas Vauiroullier 
and fohn Wight 



M7^* 



Title-Page of North's Plutarch, First Edition 



J, 



Entered at Stationers' Hall 



Copyright, i88i 
By henry N. HUDSON 



Copyright, 1909 
By KATE W. HUDSON 



Copyright, 1916 
By GINN and COMPANY 



all rights reserved 



316.6 



SEP -8 1916 

GINN AND COMPANY • PRO- 
PRIETORS • BOSTON • U.S.A. 



©CI. A 4 



38291 J^^.!<? 



*T.^*iN / 



PREFACE 

The text of this edition of Coriolanus is based on a 
collation of the seventeenth century Folios, the Globe edi- 
tion, the Cambridge (W. A. Wright) edition of 1891, and 
that of Delius (1882). As compared with the text of the 
earlier editions of Hudson's Shakespeare, it is conserva- 
tive. Exclusive of changes in spelling, punctuation, and 
stage directions, very few emendations by eighteenth cen- 
tury and nineteenth century editors have been adopted; 
and these, with the more important variations from the First 
Folio, are indicated in the textual notes. These notes are 
printed immediately below the text, so that a reader or stu- 
dent may see at a glance the evidence in the case of a 
disputed reading, and have some definite understanding of 
the reasons for those differences in the text of Shakespeare 
which frequently surprise and very often annoy. Such an 
arrangement should be of special help in the case of plays 
universally read and frequently acted, as actors and inter- 
preters seldom agree in adhering to one text. A considera- 
tion of the more poetical, or the more dramatically effective, 
of two variant readings will often lead to rich results in 
awakening a spirit of discriminating interpretation and in 
developing true creative criticism. In no sense is this a 
textual variorum edition. The variants given are only those 
of importance and high authority. 



vi THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

The spelling and the punctuation of the text are modem, 
except in the case of verb terminations in -ed^ which, when 
the e is silent, are printed with the apostrophe in its place. 
This is the general usage in the First Folio. The important 
contractions in the First Folio which may indicate Elizabethan 
pronunciation ('i' th" for ^in the,' 'pamp'red' for 'pamper'd,' 
for example) are also followed. Modern spelling has to a cer- 
tain extent been adopted in the text variants, but the original 
spelling has been retained wherever its peculiarities have been 
the basis for important textual criticism and emendation. 

With the exception of the position of the textual variants, 
the plan of this edition is similar to that of the old Hudson 
Shakespeare. It is impossible to specify the various instances 
of revision and rearrangement in the matter of the Introduc- 
tion and the interpretative notes, but the endeavor has been 
to retain all that gave the old edition its unique place and to 
add the results of what seems vital and permanent in later 
inquiry and research. In this edition, as in the volumes of 
the series already published, the chapters entitled Sources, 
Date of Composition, Early Editions, Versification and Dic- 
tion, Duration of Time, Dramatic Construction and Develop- 
ment with Analysis by Act and Scene, and Stage History are 
wholly new. In this edition, too, is introduced a chronological 
chart, covering the important events of Shakespeare's life as 
man and as author and indicating in parallel columns his rela- 
tion to contemporary writers and events. As a guide to read- 
ing clubs and literary societies, there has been appended to 
the Introduction a table of the distribution of characters in 
the play, giving the acts and scenes in which each character 
appears and the number of lines spoken by each. The index 
of words and phrases has been so arranged as to serve both 



PREFACE Vil 



as a glossary and as a guide to the more important gram- 
matical differences between Elizabethan and modern English. 

While it is important that the principle of suum cuique be 
attended to so far as is possible in matters of research and 
scholarship, it is becoming more and more difficult to give 
every man his own in Shakespearian annotation. The amount 
of material accumulated is so great that the identity-origin 
of much important comment and suggestion is either wholly 
lost or so crushed out of shape as to be beyond recognition. 
Instructive significance perhaps attaches to this in editing the 
works of one who quietly made so much of materials gath- 
ered by others. But the list of authorities given on page xliv 
will indicate the chief source of much that has gone to enrich 
the value of this edition. Especial acknowledgment is here 
made of the obligations to Dr. William Aldis Wright and 
Dr. Horace Howard Furness, whose work in the collation of 
Quartos, Folios, and the more important English and Amer- 
ican editions of Shakespeare has been of so great value to all 
subsequent editors and investigators. 

With regard to the general plan of this revision of Hud- 
son's Shakespeare, Professor W. P. Trent, of Columbia Uni- 
versity, has offered valuable suggestions and given important 
advice. In the case of Cofiolajius particular acknowledg- 
ment is due to Dr. Francis Kingsley Ball. To his critical 
acumen and literary sagacity are due the explanations con- 
nected with I, iv, 31-32 and II, iii, 233-240. 



CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION 

Page 

I. Sources ^i 

The Main Story xi 

North's Plutarch . . . ' • xi 

II. Date of Composition - • xvi 

External Evidence xvi 

Internal Evidence xvi 

III. Early Editions xix 

Folios xix 

Rowe's Editions . xx 

IV. Versification and Diction xx 

Blank Verse xx 

Alexandrines xxii 

Rhyme xxiii 

Prose xxiii 

V. Duration of Time xxv 

P. A. Daniel's Time Analysis ....... xxv 

VI. Dramatic Construction and Development . . . xxvi 

Analysis by Act and Scene xxvi 

VII. The Characters xxx 

CORIOLANUS XXX 

CORIOLANUS AND HIS MOTHER XXXV 

CORIOLANUS AND HIS WiFE XXXvii 

Roman Womanhood xxxix 

VOLUMNIA xl 

Aufidius xliii 

ix 



X THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

Page 

VIII. Stage History xliv 

The Seventeenth Century xliv 

The Eighteenth Century xlv 

The Nineteenth Century and Later .... xlvi 

Authorities (with Abbreviations) xlix 

Chronological Chart 1 

Distribution of Characters liv 

THE TEXT 

Act I ^ 3 

Act II 50 

Act hi 89 

Act IV 128 

Act V 163 

INDEX 

1. Words and Phrases 197 

II. Quotations from Plutarch 204 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

Title-Page of North's Plutarch, First Edition Frontispiece 

Title-Page of North's Plutarch, Second Edition . . xiii 

Title-Page of Amyot's Plutarque xiv 



INTRODUCTION 

Note. In citations from Shakespeare's plays and nondramatic 
poems the numbering has reference to the Globe edition, except in 
the case of this play, where the reference is to this edition. 

I. SOURCES 

Modern criticism has swept away many of the dim heroic 
traditions of old Rome, and the story of Coriolanus has come 
to be regarded not as historic fact but as one of the most 
beautiful of early Roman legends. With questions of his- 
torical accuracy and fidelity to fact Shakespeare was not 
concerned. He was content to take the vivid, graphic nar- 
ratives of Plutarch as authentic history. And he would 
have been justified in doing this, even if the later results 
of scholarly criticism and research had been at his command ; 
for his business as an artist was to set forth a free and life- 
like portraiture of human character as modified by the old 
Roman nationality, and clothed with the drapery of the early 
Roman manners. 

The Main Story 

North's Plutarch. It is beyond doubt that in Coriolanus 
Shakespeare derived the great body of his historical material 
from The Life of Caius Martins Coriolanus in Sir Thomas 
North's translation of Plutarch.-"- This work was first printed 

1 Professor W. W. Skeat's Shakespeare' s Phitarch (Macmillan and 
Co.) gives these Lives in convenient form with a text based upon 
the edition of 1612. 

xi 



xii THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

in 1579 in a massive folio dedicated to Queen Elizabeth. 
The title-page is given in facsimile as the frontispiece of 
this volume. A second edition appeared in 1595, and in 
all probability this was the edition read by Shakespeare. 
Its interesting title-page, reproduced in facsimile on page xiii, 
gives in brief the literary history of North's translation, 
which was made not directly from the original Greek of 
Plutarch, but from a French version by Jacques Amyot, 
bishop of Auxerre, the title-page of which is shown in fac- 
simile on page xiv.-^ In 1603 appeared a third edition with 
additional Lives and new matter on the title-page. There 
were subsequent editions in 1612,^ 1631, 1656, and 1676. 
The popularity of this work attested by these reprintings 
was thoroughly deserved, for North's Plutarch is among the 
richest and freshest monuments of Elizabethan prose litera- 
ture, and, apart altogether from the use made of it by Shake- 
speare, is in itself an invaluable repertory of honest, manly, 
idiomatic English. All the more important passages drawn 
upon for the play are quoted in the footnotes to the text of 
this edition of Coriolamis. These will show that in most of 
the leading incidents the great Greek biographer is closely 
followed, though in many cases the incidents are worked 
out and developed with rare fertility of invention and art. 
In many places the Plutarchian form and order of thought, 
and also the very words of North's racy and delectable Eng- 
lish, are retained, with such an embalming for immortality as 

1 Despite the assertion on North's title-page, Amyot, whose ver- 
sion appeared in 1559, probably translated from a Latin text. 

2 There is a famous copy of this edition in the Greenock Library 
with the initials " W. S." at the top of the title-page and seventeenth 
century manuscript notes and markings in the text. See Skeat's 
Shakespeare' s Plutarch, Introduction, pages xii-xiii. 



THE LIVES 

OF THE NOBLE Gre- 
cians AND ROMANES, COMPARED 

TOGETHER BY THAT GRAVE LEARNED 
PHILOSOPHER AND HISTORIOGRAPHER. 

Tlutar^ ofCharofieo-j ' 

Tranflated out ofGrccke into French by Iames AMiOT,AbbotofBelIo- 
zanc,Bifhopof Auxcrrc, oncoftheKingspriuic counfcll, and great 
Amncr of Francc,and out of French into Englilh, by 
Thomas ^orth. 




Lnprinted at Londoh by Richatd Field for 
BonhamNorton. 



Title-Page of North's Plutarch, Second Edition 



LES 
VIES DES HOMMES 

Illuftres Grecs & Remains, 
Comparces I'vne auec lau- 
tre par Plutarque 
de Chaeron^e, 

Tranflatees de Grcc en Fran^ois^ 



A PAILIS, 

De rimprimerie de Michel de Vafcofau , 
M. D. LVnri. 

Auec Priuilege du Roy. 



Title-Page of Amyot's Plutarque 



XIV 



INTRODUCTION XV 

Shakespeare alone could give. In addition to the many ex- 
amples furnished in the notes, the following passages show 
the almost identical phrasing of Plutarch's prose and Shake- 
speare's verse. In Plutarch Coriolanus is described thus by 
one of his generals : 

For he was even such another, as Cato would have a soldier and 
a captain to be, not only terrible and fierce to lay about him, but to 
make the enemy afeard with the sound of his voice, and grimness 
of his countenance. 

With this compare : 

Thou wast a soldier 
Even to Cato's wish, not fierce and terrible 
Only in strokes ; but, with thy grim looks and 
The thunder-like percussion of thy sounds. 
Thou mad'st thine enemies shake, as if the world 
Were feverous, and did tremble. [I, iv, 56-61] 

In Coriolanus Shakespeare's indebtedness to North's Plu- 
tarch may be summed up as extending to: (i) the general 
story of the play; (2) minor incidents and happenings, as the 
market-place incident (II, iii) in which Coriolanus displays 
his wounds to the populace ; (3) descriptive detail, as in the 
description of the relationship existing between Coriolanus 
and his mother (I, iii, 1-35); and (4) reproduction of many 
passages almost word for word, including som.e of the finest 
speeches, as in the scene where Coriolanus in exile confronts 
Aufidius (IV, v). 

On the other hand, Shakespeare's alteration of Plutarchian 
material is along the lines of (i) injection of picturesque and 
humorous details, as in the interruptions and rejoinders in 
the "pretty tale" of Menenius (I, i, 82-150); (2) effective 
portraiture both of the principal characters and of the less 



xvi THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

important Menenius, Aufidius, Virgilia, and the tribunes , and 
(3) simplification and compression of the action for dramatic 
effect, as in condensing the three popular uprisings into one. 

H. DATE OF COMPOSITION 

Modern editors fix the date of composition of Coriolanus 
within 1 608-1 6 10, the later time limit {terminus ante quern), 
and 1598, the earlier time limit {terminus post quern). The 
weight of evidence is in favor of 1608-16 10. 

External Evidence 

Research has found no conclusive evidence of a positive 
kind as to the date of composition. The negative evidence 
involved in the fact that Coriolanus is not mentioned by 
Francis Meres in the Palladis Tamia"^ does no more than 
establish 1598 as a probable terminus post quern. 

Internal Evidence 

I . Allusions within the Play. Though Coriolanus contains 
no unmistakable allusions to contemporary events or persons, 
investigators have based theories as to date of composition 
on certain passages within the play. The fable of the belly 
(I, i, 91-150) may be cited as bearing upon this question. 
While Shakespeare found this tale in North's Plutarch and 
has in general followed it as there given, Malone points out 
that " the same tale is also told of [Pope] Adrian the Fourth 
by Camden, in his Remaines, p. 199, under the head of Wise 
Speeches, with more particularity ; and one or two of the 

1 In this work, published in 1598, Meres gives a list of twelve 
noteworthy Shakespeare plays in existence at that time. 



INTRODUCTION xvii 

expressions, as well as the enumeration of the functions per- 
formed by each of the members of the body, appear to have 
been taken from that book." Camden's Re7naines concerning 
Britain was published in 1605, and quickly passed through 
seven editions. The following italicized passages in a quo- 
tation from Camden, given by Malone, show the points in 
which Shakespeare, whether or not intentionally, departs 
from Plutarch's version and follows that of Camden : 

All the members of the body conspired against the stomacke, as 
against the swallowing gulfe of all their labours ; for whereas the-eies 
beheld, the eares heard, the handes laboured, thefeete travelled, the tongue 
spake, and all partes performed their function, onely the stomacke lay 
ydle and consumed all. Hereupon they ioyntly agreed al to forbeare 
their labours, and to pine away their lasie and publike enemy. One 
day passed over, the second followed very tedious, but the third day 
was so grievous to them all, that they called a common Counsel ; The 
eyes waxed dimme, the feete could not support the body, the armes 
waxed lasie, the tongue faltered, and could not lay open the matter; 
Therefore they all with one accord desired the advise of the Heart. 
There Reason layd open before them, etc. 

These resemblances to Camden, although regarded by 
some editors as proof that Coriolantts was not written until 
after 1605, are insignificant in comparison with the close 
adherence to Plutarch's narrative : 

All the members of a man's body did rebel against the belly, com- 
plaining of it, that it only remained in the midst of the body without 
doing any thing, neither did bear any labour to the maintenance of 
the rest: whereas all other parts and members did labour painfully, 
and were very careful, to satisfy the appetites and desires of the 
body. And so the belly, all this notwithstanding, laughed at their 
folly, and said : It is true, I first receive all meates that nourish 
man's body : but afterwards I send it again to the nourishment of 
other parts of the same. . . . For matters being well digested, and 



xviii THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

their counsels throughly examined, touching the benefit of the com- 
monwealth, the Senators are cause of the common commodity that 
Cometh unto every one of you. 

The assertion that Coriolaiius must have been written 
earlier than 1609 is based chiefly on the likeness of the pas- 
sage in Jonson's The Silent Woman, " Well, Dauphine, you 
have lurched your friends of the better half of the garland " 
to that in Coriolanus, II, ii, 98, " He lurch'd all swords of 
the garland." Jonson's play appeared in 1609. 

2. Qualities of Style and Diction. The internal evidence of 
style, the skillful weaving of tragic complication, ethical sug- 
gestion, and political sagacity, the quality of the prose and 
blank verse (see below, Versification and Diction), the energy 
of the characterization, the close resemblance of workmanship 
to that of Afitony and Cleopatra, which most editors agree was 
composed shortly before its entry in The Statio?ters^ Registers, 
on May 20, 1608, — all point to the period of 1608-1610 as 
the probable date of composition. 

It has been said that a true taste for Shakespeare is like 
the creation of a special sense ; and this saying is nowhere 
better approved than in reference to his subtile variations of 
language and style. He began with what may be described 
as a preponderance of the poetic element over the dramatic. 
His development shows a gradual rising of the dramatic and 
ethical interest into strength and prominence. Where posi- 
tive external evidence is lacking the probable date of compo- 
sition may be argued from the relative strength of poetic, 
dramatic, and ethical elements. In Coriolanus we find such 
unity of action, severity of style, compactness of structure, 
and limiting of humorous by-play, as characterize the work- 
manship of his great tragic period, ushered in hy Julius Ccesar 



INTRODUCTION xix 

and concluded by AnioTiy afid Cleopatra and Coriolanus. 
Verse and diction tests,^ the proportion of prose and verse 
and of rhymed and unrhymed lines in the regular dialogue, 
the number of feminine endings, light endings, weak endings, 
run-on lines, short lines, etc. (see below, Versification and 
Diction), strengthen the case for the date of composition 
suggested by the other evidence. 

III. EARLY EDITIONS 

Folios 

On November 8, 1623, Edward Blount and Isaac Jaggard 
obtained formal license to print " Mr. William Shakespeeres 
Comedyes, Histories, and Tragedyes, soe manie of the said 
copyes as are not formerly entred to other men." This is the 
description-entry in The Statiojiers' Registers of what is now 
known as the First Folio (1623), designated in the textual 
notes of this edition Fi. Coriolanus is one of the plays " not 
formerly entred," ^ and it was first printed, so far as is known, 
in this famous volume. Here it originally appeared first among 
the tragedies and was followed by Titus Andronicus ; but later 
Troilus aiid Cressida, for some reason omitted from its proper 
place after Romeo and Juliet^ was placed before it. The text 
of Coriolaiius in the First Folio is frequently difficult and ob- 
scure, " due probably," the Cambridge editors point out, " to 
the carelessness or the illegibility of the manuscript from 

^ An excellent summary of these tests will be found in Dowden's 
Shakspere Primer., pages 39-46. See also Ward's History of E^iglisk 
Dramatic Literature, Vol. II, pages 47—51. 

2 This is strong evidence that the play had not been printed at an 
earlier date. 



XX THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

which it was printed." This text, with the necessary emenda- 
tions indicated in the textual notes and elsewhere, is the basis 
of the text of this edition of the play. 

The Second Folio, Fg (1632), the Third Folio, F3 (1663, 
1664), and the Fourth Folio, F4 (1685), show few variants 
in the text of Coriolanus and none of importance. 

Rowe's Editions 

In the Folios the play is divided into acts, but not into 
scenes, though the first act is headed Actus Primus, Sccena 
Prima. The first systematic division into scenes was made 
by Nicholas Rowe, poet laureate to George I, in the edition 
which he issued in six octavo volumes in 1709. In this edi- 
tion Rowe, an experienced playwright, marked the entrances 
and exits of the characters and introduced many stage direc- 
tions. He also introduced the list of dramatis personae which 
has been the basis for all later lists. A second edition in 
eight volumes was published in 1 7 1 4. Rowe followed very 
closely the text of the Fourth Folio, but modernized spelling, 
punctuation, and occasionally grammar. These are the first 
critical editions of Shakespeare's plays. 

IV. VERSIFICATION AND DICTION 
Blank Verse 

Coriolanus is one of the seven longest plays in the Shake- 
speare canon, and of its total of 3392 lines 2521 are in blank 
verse ^ — the unrhymed, iambic five-stress (decasyllabic) verse, 

1 The term ' blank verse ' was just coming into use in Shakespeare's 
day. It seems to have been used for the first time in Uterature in 



INTRODUCTION xxi 

or iambic pentameter, introduced into England from Italy 
by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, about 1540, and used 
by him in a translation of the second and fourth books 
of the ^neid. Nicholas Grimald {TotteVs Miscellany^ ^557) 
employed the measure for the first time in English original 
poetry, and its roots began to strike deep into British soil 
and absorb substance. It is peculiarly significant that Sack- 
ville and Norton should have used it as the measure of 
Gorboduc^ the first English tragedy (performed by " the 
Gentlemen of the Inner Temple" on January 18, 1561, and 
first printed in 1565). About the time when Shakespeare 
arrived in London the infinite possibilities of blank verse as 
a vehicle for dramatic poetry and passion were being shown 
by Kyd, and above all by Marlowe. Blank verse as used by 
Shakespeare is really an epitome of the development of the 
measure in connection with the English drama. In his earlier 
plays the blank verse is often similar to that of Go7'boduc. 
The tendency is to adhere to the syllable-counting principle, 
to make the line the unit, the sentence and phrase coinciding 
with the line (end-stopped verse), and to use five perfect 
iambic feet to the line. In plays of the middle period, such 
as The Merchant of Venice^ Much Ado About Nothing, As 
You Like It, written between 1596 and 1600, the blank verse 
is more like that of Kyd and Marlowe, with less monotonous 
regularity in the structure and an increasing tendency to carry 
on the sense from one line to another without a syntactical 
or rhetorical pause at the end of the line (run-on verse, 
enjambement). Redundant syllables now abound, and the 

Nash's Preface to Greene's Menaphon, where we find the expression, 
"the swelling bumbast of bragging blanke verse." Shakespeare uses 
the expression three times, always humorously or satirically. 



xxii THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

melody is richer and fuller. In Shakespeare's later plays, to 
which Coriolanus belongs, the blank verse breaks away from 
bondage to formal line limits, and sweeps all along with it in 
freedom, power, and organic unity. 

The verse of Coriolanus shows perfect freedom from the 
monotonous regularity of the earlier plays ; it is flexible and 
varied, musical and sonorous, and has the superb movement 
of the verse in King Lear ^ The Winter's Tale, and The Tempest. 
End-stopped, normally regular iambic pentameter lines occur, 
but run-on verse predominates. Only Cymbeline and King 
Henry the Eighth show a larger proportion of such verse. 
There are 710 feminine endings (only six plays having a 
larger proportion), 60 light endings,^ and 44 weak endings. 
" The light endings and weak endings, scanty in all the pre- 
vious plays (the largest number being 2 1 of the former, and 
2 of the latter in Macbeth^, reach the number of 71 and 28 
respectively, in Antony ; 60 and 44 in Coriolanus ; 78 and 52 
in Cymbeli7ie\ 42 and 25 in The Tempest; 57 and 43 in The 
Winter's Tahr — Gollancz. 

Alexandrines 

While French prosodists apply the term ' Alexandrine ' 
only to a twelve-syllable line with the pause after the sixth 
syllable, it is generally used in English to designate iambic 
six-stress verse, or iambic hexameter, of which we have ex- 
amples in I, i, 199 ; I, iv, 6 ; I, x, 17. This was a favorite 

1 Light endings, as defined by Ingram, are such words as am^ 
can, do, has, I, thou, etc., on which " the voice can to a certain small 
extent dwell " ; weak endings are words like and, for, from, if, in, 
of, or, which " are so essentially proclitic . . . that we are forced to 
run them, in pronunciatiom no less than in sense, into the closest 
connection with the opening words of the succeeding line." 



INTRODUCTION xxiii 

Elizabethan measure, and it was common in moral plays and 
the earlier heroic drama. English literature has no finer ex- 
amples of this verse than the last line of each stanza of 
The Faerie Qiieene. In Coriolaniis are 41 Alexandrines. 

Rhyme 

Apart from the use of rhyme in songs, lyrics, and portions 
of masques (as in The Tempest, IV, i, 60-138), a progress 
from more to less rhyme is a sure index to Shakespeare's 
development as a dramatist and a master of expression. In 
the early Love's Labour'' s Lost are more than 1000 rhyming 
five-stress iambic lines; in Julius Ccesar only 34; in The 
Tempest only 2 ; in The Wifiter's Tale not one. In Cofio- 
lanus, as in all the later plays, rhyme is used sparingly, 
there being in all only 13 rhyming couplets. Here it is 
used chiefly for the following purposes: (i) to mark the 
close of speeches and scenes, as in II, i, 1 51-15 2 ; IV, vii, 
56-57 ; (2) to point an epigram or a maxim, as in IV, 
vii, 54-55 ; (3) to aid in expressing strong emotion, as in 
II, iii, 1 07-1 19, where Coriolanus gives way to his pent-up 
feelings in the longest rhymed passage in the play. 

Prose 

In the development of the English drama the use of prose 
as a vehicle of expression entitled to equal rights with verse 
was due to Lyly. He was the first to use prose with power 
and distinction in original plays and did memorable service 
in preparing the way for Shakespeare's achievement. Inter- 
esting attempts have been made to explain Shakespeare's 
distinctive use of verse and prose ; and of recent years there 
has been much discussion of the question " whether we are 



xxiv THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

justified in supposing that Shakespeare was guided by any 
fixed principle in his employment of verse and prose, or 
whether he merely employed them, as fancy suggested, for 
the sake of variety and relief." ^ It is a significant fact that 
in many of his earlier plays there is little or no prose, and 
that the proportion of prose to blank verse increases with 
the decrease of rhyme. In the later plays five kinds of 
prose may be distinguished: (i) the prose of formal docu- 
ments, as in letters and proclamations. (2) The prose of 
' low life,' including the speech of comic characters, as in 
many of the scenes in which Menenius appears. This is a 
development of the humorous prose found, for example, in 
Greene's comedies that deal with humble life. (3) The collo- 
quial prose of simple dialogue, as in the conversation between 
Volumnia, Virgilia, and Valeria (I, iii). In these passages, the 
prose diction gives temporary emotional relief and prepares 
for the heightening of the dramatic pitch in the scenes which 
immediately follow. But note that this scene changes to 
blank verse when Volumnia becomes excited. (4) The prose 
of abnormal mentality. (5) The essentially euphuistic prose. 
Of this there are few examples in Coriolantis, but in II, iii, 
where Coriolanus speaks now in verse and now in prose, 
his longest prose speech (lines 90-98) might be termed 
euphuistic. For the most part the prose of the play is that 
of homely dialogue and of serious information. 

1 Professor J. Churton Collins, Shakespeare as a Prose Writer. 
See Delius, Die Prosa in Shakespeares Dratnen [Shakespeare Jahr- 
biich, V, 227-273); Janssen, Die Prosa in Shakespeares Dratnen; 
Professor Hiram Corson, An Introduction to the Sttidy of Shake- 
speare, pages 83-98. 



INTRODUCTION 



XXV 



V. DURATION OF TIME 

1. Historic Time. A period of about four years is cov- 
ered by the events of the play. The secession to the Mons 
Sacer, in the year of Rome, a.u.c. 262, opens the play, and 
the death of Coriolanus, a.u.c. 266, marks its close. The 
capture of Corioli (' Corioles ' as Shakespeare wrote it, 
following North's Plutarch, and as it is always given in the 
text, stage directions, etc., of this edition of the play) is now 
reckoned to the year 493 B.C. 

2. Dramatic Time. " The historical drama," says Bulwer- 
Lytton, " is the concentration of historical events." In 
Coriolanus the happenings of four years are represented 
as the occurrences of eleven days with intervals, distributed 
over the acts and scenes as follows : ^ 



Day I. — I, i. 

Interval. 
Day 2. — I, ii. 

Interval. 
Day 3. — I, iii-x. 

Interval (Cominius and 
Martins return to 
Rome). 
Day 4. — II, i. 

Interval (ambassadors 
from Corioles have 
arrived in Rome). 



Day 5. — II, i-IV, ii. 

Interval (a few days). 
Day 6. — IV, iii. 
Day 7. — IV, iv, v. 

Interval. 
Day 8. — IV, vi. 

Interval. 
Day 9. — IV, vii. 

Interval. 
Day 10. — V, i-v. 

Interval. 
Day II. — V, vi. 



1 P. A. Daniel in Nezv Shakspere Society Transactions, 1877-1879, 
pages 183-188. 



xxvi THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

VI. DRAMATIC CONSTRUCTION AND 
DEVELOPMENT 

Coriolaniis is a tragedy of the more extreme Shakespearian 
type, in which is represented a conflict between an individual, 
or group of individuals, and certain forces which environ, an- 
tagonize, and overwhelm. The interest centers in the person- 
ality of Coriolanus, and upon him depends the dramatic unity. 
In this play, as in all Shakespearian tragedy, five stages may 
be noted in the plot development: (i) the exposition, or in- 
troduction; (2) the complication, rising action, or growth; 
(3) the climax, crisis, or turning point ; (4) the resolution, 
falling action, or consequence ; and (5) the denouement, 
catastrophe,-^ or conclusion. Let it not be thought for a mo- 
ment that each of these stages is clearly differentiated. As a 
rule they pass insensibly into each other, as they do in life. 

Analysis by Act and Scene ^ 
I. The Exposition, or Introduction (Tying of the Knot) 

Act /, Scene i. The first three scenes form an introduction to the 
play as a whole. Coriolanus is a tragedy of a human soul, and it is 
necessary to its success that the central figure be at first pictured 
with the light full on his strong features, and the defects untouched 
or barely suggested. The keynote of the struggle is sounded even 
in the opening lines, when one of the rabble says to his companions, 
"First, you know Caius Martius is chief enemy to the people " (line 7). 

1 " Catastrophe — the change or revolution which produces the 
conclusion or final event of a dramatic piece." — Johnson. 

2 " It must be understood that a play can be analyzed into very 
different schemes of plot. It must not be thought that one of these 
schemes is right and the rest wrong ; but the schemes will be better 
or worse in proportion as — while of course representing correctly 
the facts of the play — they bring out more or less of what ministers 
to our sense of design." — Moulton. 



INTRODUCTION xxvii 

It is this assumption on the part, first of the common people, and 
later of the senators, that enmity exists between them and Coriolanus 
that makes inevitable the continuous misunderstanding and final 
disaster. The first scene foreshadows not only the supreme struggle 
between Coriolanus and his fate but the lesser although historically 
more significant struggle between the rulers and the ruled. Only 
conflict and tragedy can come from the personal material presented 
here. Coriolanus is not made to appear until line 158, when the 
audience has been fully acquainted with the necessary facts. 

Act /, Scene ii. As an important element in the dramatic exposi- 
tion, Aufidius is introduced and preparation is made for the part he 
plays in the entanglements of the rising action. The keynote of 
"enmity" is again heard when Coriolanus is named as the "^old 
enemy" (line 12) of Aufidius. Attention is called to the external 
wars which are engrossing Rome and have such an important part 
to play later in the falling action of the tragedy. 

Act I, Scene in. Now that the central character and his chief op- 
ponents have been introduced, it remains for this last of the intro- 
ductory scenes to bring forward Volumnia, who is so necessary to 
a complete picture of the hero and to the sequel of the plot. This 
domestic scene in which both Virgilia and her son also appear, re- 
lieves the tension already created by the statement of the internal 
and external troubles impending. 



II. The Complication, Rising Action, or Growth (Tying of 

THE Knot) 

Act /, Scenes iv-x. In the threatened attacks on Rome by the 
Volsces, Coriolanus stands out as the champion of the city. He is 
now the ideal hero that wrings only wonder and fervent praise from 
the timorous souls. In Homeric fashion he meets the leader of the 
enemy's forces in single combat, and becomes the idol of Rome. 
By thus building up a heroic-sized figure, the dramatist has prepared 
the way for making the succeeding mistakes and misunderstandings 
which entangle Coriolanus and finally drag him down to ruin seem 
the very essence of tragedy. Aufidius is again shown as a growing 
rival, and the complication is tightened. 



xxviii THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

Ad II, Scene i. In the second act the compHcation of the drama 
is greatly advanced, for at once the weaknesses which have hereto- 
fore been only suggested are seen in the glare of full light. Corio- 
lanus lacks that tolerant sympathy for the common people which 
marks all truly great leaders, and this together with his overweening 
pride are the rocks on which he is wrecked. This scene looks both 
backward and forward : it reveals conditions in Rome and antici- 
pates new interests. By contrasting the welcome which Coriolanus 
receives from the patricians with that given him by the plebeians, 
Shakespeare is reminding his audience that this is a conflict not 
only of an individual with his weaknesses but of class with class. 

Act II, Scene ii. Up to this point the strongest feelings exposed 
have been those of jealousy and active enmity toward Coriolanus. 
Now that his success against the Volsces has made him the popular 
hero, he is at a turning of the ways. This dramatic opportunity fully 
to retrieve a safe place in the hearts of the people is not seized by 
him, and the full significance of the complication is revealed. 

Act II, Scene Hi. Now is accomplished what has been foreshadowed 
— Coriolanus is tested and fails. The plebeians, so susceptible to 
chance moods, are completely alienated by his haughtiness and 
irony, and the action is hastened when they submit to the sugges- 
tions of the intriguing tribunes. 

Act III, Scene i. The action is rapid. The way has been fully pre- 
pared by preceding events for all that is to follow. One political 
blunder after another on the part of Coriolanus in dealing with the 
people gives to this scene the complexion of tragedy itself. Now 
that all classes are turned against Coriolanus in open hostility, the 
complication is almost complete. 

Act III, Scene ii. A powerful factor in the emotional interest of 
the drama appears for the second time. Volumnia's influence on 
both the future of Rome and the character of her son prepares for 
that dramatic scene in the falling action (V, iii) in which the mother 
triumphs and Rome is saved. 

Act III, Scene iii, lines 1—86. The element of suspense is in- 
troduced, and again opportunity is given Coriolanus to retrieve 
his blunders. In this new failure to measure up to heroic size the 
dramatic complication is complete. 



INTRODUCTION xxix 

III. The Climax, Crisis, or Turning Point (the Knot Tied) 

Ac^ HI, Scene Hi, lines 8^-14.3. In the disastrous close of the 
career of Coriolanus in Rome comes the crisis of the play. 

IV. The Resolution, Falling Action, or Consequence (the 

Untying of the Knot) 

Act IV, Scene i. Even in his failures Coriolanus is made to retain 
the eager sympathy of the audience because of the unjust accusations 
brought against him. And in showing him here as son, husband, 
and father as well as defeated political leader, the dramatist wins 
fresh sympathy to his side. 

Act IV, Scene ii. This scene is a bit of effective contrast such 
as only Shakespeare knew how to give. The pride and righteous 
indignation of Volumnia are shown against the insincerity and 
cowardice of the tribunes. 

Act IV, Scenes iii-iv. Again the external affairs of Rome are 
forced into prominence, and in the threatened attack of the Volsces 
on Rome and in the alliance of Coriolanus with Aufidius, the enemy 
of Rome, the way is opened for the final disaster. There is still, 
however, so much of purpose and strength in Coriolanus that both 
sympathy and interest are still centered in him. 

Act IVi Scene v. The first step that leads to the final undoing of 
Coriolanus is taken. Again a certain element of suspense is intro- 
duced in the reconciliation effected between sworn enemies. The 
audience wonders and doubts, then turns expectantly to succeeding 
events, hoping to find their fears unfounded. 

Act IV, Scene vi. As a piece of stage business this scene is most 
effective, for the audience already knows what is about to befall 
Rome. The disaster that threatens the tribunes suggests a denoue- 
ment eagerly wished for. 

Act IV, Scene vii. The resolution is advanced, and the ultimate 
failure forecasted in the reawakening of jealousy between Aufidius 
and Coriolanus. 

Act V, Scenes i-ii. By picturing the consternation in Rome, and 
the unsuccessful attempt of Menenius and Cominius to shake Corio- 
lanus from his purpose of destroying the city, a fitting background 



XXX THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

has been made for the dramatic meeting of the vanquished son and 
his mother. 

Act V, Scene in. This is the most dramatic and the finest scene 
of the play. The clash between two strong spirits, and the strength 
and dignity of the combatants — Coriolanus and Volumnia — inten- 
sify the tragic emotion. 

Act V, Scenes iv-v. The change in Rome from despair to rejoicing 
emphasizes the mother's triumph and the son's defeat. 

V. Denouement, Catastrophe, or Conclusion (the Knot Untied) 

Act V, Scene vi. Coriolanus has failed, yet so great has been the 
sympathy aroused in his behalf, even in the midst of the catastrophe 
that his sins of haughtiness and prejudice have brought upon him, 
that the audience is scarcely ready to meet the only solution of the 
tragic tangle — his violent death. 

Vn. THE CHARACTERS 

Coriolanus 

The Coriolanus that Shakespeare found in Plutarch is 
referred to by the Greek historian in these calm and weighty 
sentences : 

While the force and vigour of his soul, and a persevering con- 
stancy in all he undertook, led him successfully into many noble 
achievements, yet, on the other side, by indulging the vehemence 
of his passion, and through an obstinate reluctance to yield or 
accommodate his humours and sentiments to those of people ahout 
him, he rendered himself incapable of acting and associating with 
others. Those who saw with admiration how proof his nature was 
against all the softness of pleasure, the hardships of service, and the 
allurements of gain, while allowing to that universal firmness of his 
the respective names of temperance, fortitude, and justice, yet, in 
the life of the citizen and the statesman, could not choose but be 
disgusted at the severity and ruggedness of his deportment, and 
with his overbearing, haughty, and imperious temper. Education 



INTRODUCTION xxxi 

and study, and the favours of the Muses, confer no greater benefit 
on those that seek them than these humanizing and civiHzing lessons, 
which teach our natural qualities to submit to the limitations pre- 
scribed by reason, and to avoid the wildness of extremes 

Shakespeare not only makes pride the master-principle 
of Coriolanus but also shows that his pride is rendered 
uncontrollable by passion. It is therefore strictly character- 
istic of the man that an unexpected word of reproach stings^ 
him to the quick : the instant it touches his ear, he explodes 
like a rocket. It is on this knowledge that the wily tribunes 
work, watching the time to sting him into some fatal provo- 
cation of popular resentment. Here, with great judgment, 
and without any hint from Plutarch, Shakespeare makes 
Aufidius, when the time is ripe, touch him into an ecstasy of 
passionate rage by spitting the term ' boy ' at him. Because 
of the utter unfitness of such an epithet, his very pride, if 
restrained by reason and self-respect, would have caused 
him to answer it with calm and silent scorn. But he resents 
it in proportion as it strikes wide of him, and makes its very- 
absurdity the cause of its power over him. 

The people would gladly reward his noble acts with the 
highest honours in their gift, if they did not say to themselves, 
" he pays himself with being proud." They glory in his valor 
and prowess, but complain that he is too proud of being so 
valiant. They feel that his heroic exploits are done not at all 
to win their respect and good will, or from any impulse of 
patriotism, but only to feed his inordinate egotism. They 
even grant that the fault is something inherent in his nature, 
and are ready to make large allowance for him on this score. 
But he seems to them to delight in serving them only to 
turn his service into a vantage-ground for spurning them. 



xxxii THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

On the other hand, there is much in the people that is not 
deserving of respect. This Coriolarius seizes on greedily. 
He scorns their meanness, and uses this as the cause for 
scorning them. He cannot see in them anything that is not 
vile. Still he is placed where his pride cannot reach its mark 
but by their suffrage ; he must pay his court to that which 
most galls and offends it. He therefore tries to have his 
greatness force honours from them in spite of his contempt 
of them, because such a contradiction between their feeling 
and their acting serves to emphasize his superiority. This is 
well shown in the words of one of those almost characterless 
speakers whom Shakespeare sometimes endows with much 
candor and shrewdness of observation, and then uses as the 
mouthpiece of his own judgment : 

If he did not care whether he had their love, or no, he waved in- 
differently 'twixt doing them neither good, nor harm ; but he seeks 
their hate with greater devotion than they can render it him, and 
leaves nothing undone that may fully discover him their opposite. 
Now, to seem to affect the malice and displeasure of the people, is 
as bad as that which he dislikes, to flatter them for their love. [II, 
ii, 15-21] 

Hence, when he goes out to beg their voices, he is careful 
to spice his requests with mockery, and to let them see that 
his spirit disclaims what his tongue speaks. 

It is a bold but most natural stroke of character that 
Coriolanus, notwithstanding his alleged intense aversion to 
seeming at all the thing he is not, can yet skillfully hide his 
feelings when it serves his purpose well. From his bear- 
ing toward the people, one would suppose it were quite im- 
possible for him to practice any sort of concealment. On 
this ground Menenius apologizes for his rough bluntness : 



INTRODUCTION xxxiii 

His nature is too noble for the world : 

He would not flatter Neptune for his trident, 

Or Jove for 's power to thunder : his heart 's his mouth : 

What his breast forges, that his tongue must vent. 

[Ill, i, 255-258] 

Consider this : he has been bred i' th' wars 
Since he could draw a sword, and is ill-school'd 
In bolted language : meal and bran together 
, He throws without distinction. [Ill, i, 319-322] 

Thus Others think him, and even he thinks himself, utterly 
incapable of insincerity. When his friends entreat him to com- 
ply outwardly with the people's humor, he frankly declares : 

I will not do 't ; 
Lest I surcease to honour mine own truth. 
And by my body's action teach my mind 
A most inherent baseness. [Ill, ii, 120-123] 

Coriolanus, however, is not altogether " himself his world 
and his own god " : he has other and better forces, which 
often rise against his egotism, and sometimes prevail over 
it. His character is indeed contradictory, and all its parts, 
good and bad, are fashioned on so large a scale as to yield 
sufficient evidence for making out a strong case either of all 
blame or of all praise. At the same time the several lines 
are so bold and pronounced that it is not easy for one to 
keep clear of extremes. Even his pride, with all its anti- 
social harshness, is not destitute of amiable and engaging 
features. There are some points of nobleness and magna- 
nimity about it. His attitude toward family, country, talents, 
and courage enter into its composition, and make it a part 
of the general greatness of his character. 



xxxiv THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

With all his passionate craving for renown, Coriolanus still 
counts it among his chief honours to be the cause that others 
are honoured. If he is jealous of the position of his fellow 
patricians, he is jealous of their virtue too, and would have 
them deserve to hold the place of supreme power and 
reverence in the State. It should be remembered that the 
admission of the people to a direct share in the government 
is a new idea to Coriolanus. He resents it as an invasion of 
ancient right ; he fears it as a seed of political anarchy and 
dissolution. Old Rome was indeed a wonderful nation, and 
Shakespeare found in the character of Coriolanus an apt 
and inviting occasion for representing the struggle between 
those two antagonist forces, whose reconcilement and unity 
did so much towards building and cementing the later 
Roman Empire. 

Coriolanus is modest. He cannot frame the language of 
flattery, and he has an honest aversion to being flattered. So 
far his temper is noble and just, yet he is so ostentatious and 
emphatic, not to say supercilious, in his disgust of flattery, as 
to breed some doubt whether, after all, it is anything but 
egotism in disguise, or whether it is not more the result of 
arrogance than of real modesty. When he so energetically 
scouts to hear his " nothings monster'd " (II, ii, 74), there is 
in his manner a strong suggestion of haughty contempt for 
his praisers, or a certain critical loftiness of mind, as if he 
craved occasions for rebuking his friends and admirers, and 
of making them feel his immense superiority. Men have 
sometimes towered so high in self-approval as to scorn the 
approval of their fellows. The attitude of Coriolanus some- 
times suggests that he felt his greatness to be of so tran- 
scendent a pitch as to make " breath poor and speech 



INTRODUCTION xxxv 

unable." Such display of egotism may, and sometimes does, 
pass for modesty, for it is apt to use the style of that virtue. 
That Shakespeare saw the germs of this disease in the deep 
intricacies of the human heart is apparent from his saying 
of Ulysses that he '' speaks not »to himself but with a pride 
that quarrels at self-breath " {Troilus and Cressida, II, iii, 
181-182). His delineation of Coriolanus more than once 
suggests that the hero's disdaining of honours is at least partly 
in the idea that no honours can come up to his merit. This is 
shown more clearly when his arrogance reaches the height 
of supposing that all Rome cannot counterbalance his own 
gigantic importance. On being banished, Coriolanus assumes 
that the loss of his single person will be worse for Rome 
than the loss of Rome will be to him, and so retorts : 

You common cry of curs ! whose breath I hate 

As reek o' th' rotten fens, whose loves I prize 

As the dead carcasses of unburied men 

That do corrupt my air: I banish you. [Ill, iii, 120-123] 

Coriolanus and his Mother 

Of Coriolanus Plutarch says that the only thing which 
caused him to love honour was the delight his mother had of 
him, for nothing made him so happy as that she might always 
see him return with a crown upon his head, and still embrace 
him, with tears running down her cheeks for joy. As repre- 
sented by Shakespeare, he can outface the rest of the world, 
but his mother, with his household treasures at her side, is 
too much for him. Even when he has conquered all the 
armies of his country, and has the State itself at his feet, 
her strength of soul and patriotic devotion conquer him. In 
his rapture of self-confidence, he aspires to act the god, but 



xxxvi THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

when at last a diviner power masters him, and his arrogance 
succumbs to the touch of domestic awe and tenderness, he- 
frankly yields himself human. Perhaps in all literature there 
is not another such instance of pride struggling with affection, 
and of an iron will subdued by the appeals of the heart, as 
when he sees the embassy of women approaching : 

My wife comes foremost ; then the honour'd mould 

Wherein this trunk was fram'd, and in her hand 

The grandchild to her blood. But out, affection ! 

All bond and privilege of nature, break ! 

Let it be virtuous to be obstinate. 

What is that curtsy worth ? Or those doves' eyes, 

Which can make gods forsworn ? I melt, and am not 

Of stronger earth than others : my mother bows, 

As if Olympus to a molehill should 

In supplication nod : and my young boy 

Hath an aspect of intercession, which 

Great nature cries ' Deny not' [V, iii, 22-33] 

And later in the same scene the picture of the conqueror's 
haughtiness and hardness gradually softening and at length 
melting away altogether at the voice of his mother's plead- 
ing, is one of the great passages in literature. Such a min- 
gling of austerity and tenderness is met with nowhere else 
in Shakespeare's poetry. It is to be noted that the mother's 
triumph does not seem to be fully consummated till her 
great woman's heart stiffens up with something of the son's 
pride, and she turns away with an air of defiance : 

Come, let us go : 
This fellow had a Volscian to his mother ; 
His wife is in C orioles, and his child 
Like him by chance. Yet give us our dispatch : 
I am hush'd until our city be afire. [V, iii, 1 77-181] 



INTRODUCTION xxxvii 

That she can be like him in pride tempers that^ quality in 
him, and disposes him to be like her in other points. We 
are prepared for this crowning victory of the mother by a 
lighter example of the same kind in III, ii, where Volumnia 
urges her son to appease the infuriated^multitude by playing 
the amiable towards them. His pride shows intense repug- 
nance to the undertaking, but she subdues him to it : 

At thy choice then : 
To beg of thee, it is my more dishonour 
Than thou of them. Come all to ruin : let 
Thy mother rather feel thy pride than fear 
Thy dangerous stoutness ; for I mock at death 
With as big heart as thou. Do as thou list. 
Thy valiantness was mine, thou suck'st it from me : 
But owe thy pride thyself. [Ill, ii, 123-130] 

CORIOLANUS AND HIS WiFE 

The mother's is not the only influence at work to win Corio- 
lanus from his unnatural purpose and recall him to better 
thoughts. To be sure she does most of the speaking, but 
her speech is powerfully reenforced by the presence and 
aspect of others. Little is said of Virgilia, and still less is said 
by her, but that little is so managed as to infer a great deal. 
A gentle, retiring, undemonstrative person, she has neverthe- 
less much quiet firmness, and even a dash of something like 
obstinacy, in her disposition. Her power touches the depths 
of her husband's heart, and is the more effective with him 
for being the power of delicacy and sweetness and so utterly 
unlike his own. When he returns from the war covered with 
glory, her silent tears of joy are to him sweeter than the loud 
applause of all the rest. He hails her as " my gracious 
silence " and plays out his earnest tenderness in the question. 



xxxviii THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

" Wouldst thou have laugh'd, had I come coffin'd home, that 
weep'st to see me triumph ? " (II, i, 167-168). How deeply 
her still forces have stolen into his being, is effectively shown 
in what he says to her when she comes with her speechless 
supplication to second the voice of his mother's remonstrance : 

Best of my flesh, 
Forgive my tyranny ; but do not say 
For that, ' Forgive our Romans.' O, a kiss 
Long as my exile, sweet as my revenge ! 
Now, by the jealous queen of heaven, that kiss 
I carried from thee, dear ; and my true Hp 
Hath virgin'd it e'er since. [V, iii, 42-48] 

Here he finds his whole household in something more 
powerful than arms to resist him — the mother, the wife, 
the child, all are shaming his revenge by standing true to 
their fatherland against him. The words just quoted show 
that the power of the silent mourner is even more pene- 
trating than that of the eloquent pleader. The two women 
have hearts stronger in love than his in pride, and the first 
object of that love is the old Rome of their fathers. Both 
the mother and the wife are steadfastly resolved that, if he 
march any farther against that object, it shall be over their 
bodies, while the boy's Roman spirit flashes up in the strange 
declaration, 

A shall not tread on me : 

I '11 run away till I am bigger, but then I '11 fight. 

[V, iii, 127-128] 

The hideous unnaturalness of his course is brought fully 
home to Coriolanus at thus seeing his own flesh and blood 
instinctively bent on resisting him. In the presence of " the 



INTRODUCTION xxxix 

noble sister of Publicola ; the moon of Rome " (V, iii, 64- 
65), he sees how all that is most illustrious in the same 
proud patrician stock on which he so much prides himself, 
even those who were most hurt in his banishment, will 
rather unite with his banishers in imploring the gods against 
him than surrender their country to his revenge. This sug- 
gests that what may have most appealed to Shakespeare in 
this ancient tale of Roman patriotism was, that while, to the 
minds of those high-souled men and women it was a wonder- 
ful thing to be patricians, to be Romans was a much greater. 

Roman Womanhood 

A nation's favorite legends have a close connection with 
its character, and are the spontaneous outgrowth of its 
peculiar genius and spirit. That they reflect its ideals of 
right and good is what gives them life and currency. In the 
primitive Roman scheme of thought the warrior held the 
first place, the mother the second. Womanhood in general 
was a great power in old Rome, and to be a mother was 
the highest honour but one. The gods were believed on sev- 
eral occasions to have bestowed special blessings and deliver- 
ances on the comnionwealth through the women. Temples 
were built, high honours paid to womanhood, in the faith that 
the women had repeatedly been the salvation of their coun- 
try from ruin. In the intercession which prevailed with 
Coriolanus the women were held to have been kindled and 
moved to the undertaking by the special inspiration of the 
gods. This seems to mean that the men of old Rome be- 
lieved that the gods would not continue to give them suc- 
cess and honour if they ceased to respect their mothers and 
their wives. 



xl THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

In the legend of Coriolanus the hero's character stands 
out as a special impersonation of the two great ideas of mar- 
tial courage and prowess and filial piety and submission. 
Reverence for parents, the religion of home, the sacredness 
of the domestic enclosure, worship of the houshold gods, 
whatever shed consecration on the family, and surrounded it 
with the angels of piety and awe — these were the corner- 
stone of the old Roman discipline, the palladium of the 
national strength and virtue. To fight bravely, to suffer 
heroically, for their country were the public parts of manly 
honour; while its heart and center stood in having some- 
thing at home worth fighting and suffering for. Of this 
something motherhood was the soul, and the best thoughts 
of every worthy Roman drew to the point of being "more 
brave for this, that they had much to love." 

VOLUMNIA 

In this view, Volumnia aptly impersonates the woman's 
and the mother's side of the Roman system. She is a superb 
figure, a genuine woman throughout, though with a high 
strain of what may be called manliness pervading her woman- 
hood. She has all of her son's essential strength and great- 
ness of character, and is nearly as proud as he. But her 
pride has a much less individual and unsocial cast. He is 
the chief concern of her pride, while self is the chief concern 
of his. She is proud of him far more for her country's sake 
than for his or her own. Her supreme ambition is that he 
should be the greatest among the Romans ; and she would 
have his greatness stand in being more a Roman than any 
of the others. Hence her pride so flames out in fierce resent- 
ment at the sentence of exile that to those who are not in 



INTRODUCTION xli 

sympathy with her anger she seems insane in her imprecation 
against the tribunes : 

I would the gods had nothing else to do 
But to confirm my curses ! Could I meet 'em 
But once a-day, it would unclog my heart 
Of what lies heavy to 't [IV, ii, 45-48] ; 

and in her hot remonstrance against the quiet weeping grief 
of her daughter-in-law : 

Anger 's my meat : I sup upon myself, 

And so shall starve with feeding : come, let 's go ; , 

Leave this faint puling, and lament as I do. 

In anger, Juno-like. [IV, ii, 50-53] 

Against the people also she violently raves, and speaks as if 
she would gladly see Rome burned, since Rome rejects her 
heart's idol ; but the sequel shows this to be all because she 
is so intensely Roman in spirit. Later her actions speak quite 
another language, and she is as far from sympathizing with 
her son in his selfish vindictiveness as she had been from 
sympathizing with the people's madness in banishing him. 
That a Roman should aspire to fight his way to the highest 
honours in Rome seems to her only reasonable, but that he 
should fight for anything but Rome, is beyond her concep- 
tion. When, therefore, she sees her son waging war against 
his country, it seems to her that he is making war against 
the one sole object or end of war. She would rather die with 
Rome than see him grow by the death of that for which 
alone, in her view, a Roman should wish to live. 

As the mother's pride is tempered by a more disinterested 
and patriotic spirit than the son's, so she holds a much more 
firm and steady course. Her words, in moments of high re- 
sentment, fly about wildly, but her heart sticks fast to its 



xlii THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

cherished aims. And her energy of thought and purpose, if 
not greater than her son's, yet in the end triumphs over his, 
because it proceeds on grounds less selfish and personal. 
She knows and feels that the gods are with her in it. Shake- 
speare wisely, and out of his own invention, represents her 
as exhorting Coriolanus to temporize with the people, and 
to use arts of blandishment for conciliating them : 

I prithee now, my son, 
Go to them, with this bonnet in thy hand; 
And thus far having stretch'd it (here be with them) 
Thy knee bussing the stones (for in such business 
Action is eloquence, and the eyes of th' ignorant 
More learned than the ears) waving thy head, 
Which often, thus, correcting thy stout heart, 
Now humble as the ripest mulberry, 
That will not hold the handling : or say to them, 
Thou art their soldier, and being bred in broils 
Hast not the soft way which, thou dost confess. 
Were fit for thee to use, as they to claim, 
In asking their good loves ; but thou wilt frame 
Thyself, forsooth, hereafter theirs, so far 
As thou hast power and person. [Ill, ii, 72-86] 

Like a true woman, she ''would dissemble" with her nature, 
where her fortune and her friends at stake required she 
should do so in honour. To her sense and judgment of 
things, deeds are to be weighed more by their ends and 
effects than by their intrinsic quality. That is, a man should 
act rather with a view to help and comfort those about him, 
to serve his country and his kind, than to feed his moral 
egotism, or any sullen pride, or whim of self -applause. It is 
even a rule of honour with her that a man should be more 
considerate of what will further the welfare and happiness 



INTRODUCTION xliii 

of others than of what will please himself, or accord with 
any inward or ideal standard of his own. 

Volumnia, while she appears more admirable than lovely 
in her style, is an accurate representative of the old Roman 
matronly character, in which strength and dignity seem to have 
had rather the better of sweetness and delicacy, but which 
enshrined the very soul of rectitude and honour. The story 
of the life of this mother and son, as set forth in the play, 
reproduces the old Roman domestic system, and the religious 
awe of motherhood which formed so large and powerful an 
element in the social constitution of that wonderful people. 

AUFIDIUS 

Tullus Aufidius makes an effective foil to Coriolanus, the 
contrast between them being drawn in just the right way to 
show off the vein of true nobleness in Coriolanus. Aufidius 
has all the pride and passionateness of the hero, without any 
of his gratitude and magnanimity. In Coriolanus the spirit 
of rivalry and emulation never passes the bounds of honour; 
in Aufidius it turns to downright personal envy and hate. 
Coriolanus glories in him as an antagonist, and loves to whip 
him in fair fight, but is far above all thought of ruining him 
or stabbing him in the dark. The shocking speech of Aufidius, 
in the first scene where he appears after the taking of Corioles, 
is a skillful forecast and premonition of his transport of base- 
ness at the close : 

Nor sleep nor sanctuary, 
Being naked, sick ; nor fane nor Capitol, 
The prayers of priests nor times of sacrifice, 
Embarquements all of fury, shall lift up 
Their rotten privilege and custom 'gainst 
My hate to Martins. Where I find him, were it 



xliv THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

At home, upon my brother's guard, even there, 

Against the hospitable canon, would I 

Wash my fierce hand in 's heart. [I, x, 19-27] 

This speech, of which Coleridge^ says, ''I have such deep 
faith in Shakespeare's heart-lore, that I take for granted that 
this is in nature ; although I cannot in myself discover any 
germ of possible feeling, which could wax and unfold itself 
into such a sentiment," is not a fair index of the speaker's real 
mind. It is one of those violent and impulsive extravagances 
of a very ambitious and inconstant nature writhing in an 
agony of disappointment. In such cases dark thoughts often 
bubble up from unseen depths in the mind, yet do not crys- 
tallize into character. Still Aufidius comes near putting the 
thought of the speech into act at last. Verplanck has a 
happy comment on the passage : " The mortification of de- 
feat embitters Aufidius' rivalry into hatred. When, after- 
wards, his banished rival appeals to his nobler nature, that 
hatred dies away, and his generous feeling revives. Bitter 
jealousy and hatred again grow up, as his glories are eclipsed 
by his former adversary ; yet this dark passion, too, finally 
yields to a generous sorrow at his rival's death." 

VHI. STAGE HISTORY 
The Seventeenth Century 

Litde is known of the earliest stage productions of Corio- 
lames. No actor of Shakespeare's own time is associated 
with any character in the play, and even the patient research 
of Halliwell-Phillips revealed no contemporary reference to 
its production. The first performance of which we have 
1 Notes and Lectures upon Shakespeare. 



INTRODUCTION xlv 

definite knowledge was given in France in 1639 from an 
adaptation entitled Coriolan, by Urbane Chevreau. A sec- 
ond play of the same name by Gaspard Abeille was also 
produced in France in 1676. The first recorded appearance 
on the English stage was a version by Nahum Tate, entitled 
The Ingratitude of a Commonwealth, or The Fall of Caius 
Martius Coriolaniis, which was published in 1682 and pro- 
duced the same year at the Theatre Royal. Tate, in the dedi- 
cation of his drama to the Right Honourable Charles Lord 
Herbert, admits that the tragedy is not altogether original 
with him, he " having in this adventure launcht out in Shake- 
speare's bottom." In the main he follows Shakespeare's plot,^ 
but the diction, which is commonplaceness itself, is wholly 
the author's. Among the attempts which he made to im- 
prove on Shakespeare the most interesting is the addition 
of a mad scene for Volumnia, the suicide of Virgilia, and the 
death of Aufidius and Menenius. 

The Eighteenth Century 

Not until 1 7 19 do we hear of a second English adaptation 
of Coriolanus. In that year John Dennis's The Invader of 
his Country, or the Fatal Resentmefzt, was played at the 
Drury Lane Theatre. The dedication of the published ver- 
sion, which appeared in 1729, reveals the fact that the stage 
production was a conspicuous failure. After his opening 
sentences Dennis says, " My Lord^ Coriolanus throws himself 
at your Grace's feet, in order to obtain justice of you, after 
having received as injurious treatment from the petulant 
deportment of two or three insolent players as ever he did 

1 The play was dedicated to the Duke of Newcastle, the Lord 
Chamberlain. 



xlvi THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 

from the brutal rage of the rabble. He has been banished 
from our theatre by the one, thro' a mistaken greediness of 
gain, as the other formerly expelled him from Rome through 
a groundless jealousy of power." Like Tate, Dennis out- 
rageously mangled Shakespeare, although claiming that his 
production was " but a grafting upon Shakespeare's play." ^ 
About the middle of the century a tragedy called Coriolanus 
was given at the Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin, but curiously 
this is based partly on Shakespeare's drama and partly on a 
play of the same name written by James Thomson, the author 
of The Seasons^ which was staged in 1749, the year after the 
poet's death. Thomson had taken as his sources Diony- 
sius of Halicamassus and Livy, whose narratives differ in 
many respects from that of Plutarch. It was left to the 
brilliant actor, John Philip Kemble, and his famous sister, 
Mrs. Siddons, to popularize this great Shakespearian tragedy 
on the stage. In an adaptation which was a mixture of 
Thomson and Shakespeare they appeared at Drury Lane in 
1789. " Comparatively little attention was at first attracted 
by the revival. After a time, however, the part of Coriolanus 
became considered one of the best, if not the best, in the 
repertory of Kemble, and the Volumnia of Mrs. Siddons 
ranked only after her Constance and her Lady Macbeth." 
— Beeching. 

The Nineteenth Century and Later 

Twice in the earlier part of the nineteenth century Kem- 
ble produced Coriolanus, each time from the Thomson- 
Shakespeare version. On November 3, 1806, the play was 

1 See H. C. Beeching's Introduction to Coriolanus \n The Works of 
William Shakespeare, edited by Henry Irving and Frank A. Marshall. 



INTRODUCTION xlvii 

acted at Covent Garden with Kemble in the title-role and 
Mrs. Siddons as Volumnia, and eleven years later Kemble 
chose this for his farewell appearance on the stage. In March 
of 1817 Sir Walter Scott saw him in the play and wrote a few 
days later : " John Kemble is here to take leave, acting over 
all his great characters, and with all the spirit of his best 
years. He played Coriolanus last night fully as well as I 
ever saw him, and you know what a complete model he is 
of the Roman." 

Within a few months Edmund Kean and Macready ap- 
peared on the London stage in Coriolanus in versions which, 
for the most part, were faithful to the play as written by 
Shakespeare. Kean was not successful in his interpretation, 
and Macready did not then add to his reputation by his 
performance. In 1838, however, he won high praise in the 
title-role in an elaborate revival given at Covent Garden. 
John Vanderhoff, in 1823, was favorably known in Edin- 
burgh, Manchester, and Liverpool for his Coriolanus, and 
in 1828 Edwin Forrest's rendering secured an enthusiastic 
hearing in New York City. In the later years of the century 
Edwin Booth, John McCullough, and Lawrence Barrett 
played the part in America. 

Sir Henry Irving's production in 1901 was given at a 
time when the great actor's health prevented him from sus- 
taining the part with effectiveness. Except for M. Joube's 
appearance as Coriolanus at a performance in Paris in 19 10, 
and the unsuccessful attempt at revival by Irving, the twen- 
tieth century has done little to reawaken interest in the great 
Roman tragedy. 



AUTHORITIES 

(With the more important abbreviations used in the notes) 

Fi = First Folio, 1623. 
F2 = Second Folio, 1632. 
F3 = Third Folio, 1663, 1664. 
F4 = Fourth Folio, 1685. 
Ff = all the seventeenth century Folios. 
Rowe = Rowe's editions, 1709, 17 14. 
Pope = Pope's editions, 1723, 1728. 
Theobald = Theobald's editions, 1733, 1740. 
Hanmer = Hanmer's edition, 1744. 
Johnson = Johnson's edition, 1765. 
Capell = Capell's edition, 1768. 
Malone = Malone's edition, 1790. 
Steevens = Steevens's edition, 1793. 
Staunton = Howard Staunton's edition, 1857-1860. 
Globe = Globe edition (Clark and Wright), 1864. 
Dyce = Dyce's (third) edition, 1875. 
Clar = Clarendon Press edition (W. A. Wright), 1877. 
Delius = Delius's (fifth) edition, 1882. 
Camb = Cambridge (third) edition (W. A. Wright), 1891. 
Chambers == E. K. Chambers's Warwick edition. 
Verity = A. W. Verity's Pitt Press edition. 
Gollancz = Israel Gollancz's TAe Temple Shakespeare. 
Herford = C. H. Herford's The Eversley Shakespeare. 
Abbott = E. A. Abbott's A Shakespearian Grammar. 
Schmidt =■ Schmidt's Shakespeare Lexicon. 

Murray = A New English Dictionary {The Oxford Dictionaiy). 
Plutarch = North's Plutarch., 1579. 



xlix 





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liii 



DISTRIBUTION OF CHARACTERS 

In this analysis are shown the acts and scenes in which the char- 
acters (see Dramatis Personae, page 2) appear, with the number of 
speeches and Unes given to each. 

Note. Parts of Hnes are counted as whole lines. 







NO. OF 


NO. OF 






NO. OF 


NO. OF 






SPEECHES 


LINES 






SPEECHES 


LINES 


CaiusMartius 


I, i 


12 


75 


Menenius 


I,i 


18 


92 


CORIOLANUS 


I, iv 


g 


34 


Agrippa 


II, i 


27 


112 




I, V 


3 


18 




II, ii 


II 


39 




I,vi 


9 


50 




II, iii 


5 


13 




I, viii 


3 


9 




III, i 


36 


92 




I,ix 


8 


45 




III, ii 


9 


20 




II, i 


7 


20 




III, iii 


6 


14 




II, ii 


7 


24 




IV, i 


I 


5 




II, iii 


19 


65 




IV, ii 


4 


5 




III, i 


31 


147 




IV, vi 


17 


56 




III, ii 


14 


58 




V, i 


10 


40 




III, iii 


13 


SO 




V.ii 


13 


SI 




IV, i 


6 


45 




V, iv 


_7 


J± 




IV, iv 
IV, V 


4 
17 


25 
64 






164 


573 




V, ii 


3 


14 


SiCINIUS 


I.i 


7 


16 




V, iii 


14 


106 


Velutus 


II, i 


16 


33 




V, vi 


8 


35 




II, ii 


3 


10 






187 


884 




II, iii 

III, i 


13 
26 


S4 
61 


Titus Lartius 


I, i 


2 


6 




III, iii 


16 


54 




I, iv 


8 


17 




IV, ii 


9 


16 




I, V 


3 


II 




IV, vi 


20 


43 




I, vii 


2 


7 




V, i 


4 


II 




I, ix 


3 


5 




V, iv 


10 


JA 




III, i 


_5 


12 






124 


312 






23 


"58 


Junius Brutus 


I, i 


7 


19 


COMINIUS 


I, i 


3 


3 




II, i 
II, ii 


20 
6 


58 
14 




I, vi 


13 


44 




II, iii 


10 


56 




I, ix 

II, i 


8 


55 




III,i 


.23 


44 




3 


3 




III, iii 


7 


19 




II, ii 


2 


47 




IV, ii 


7 


10 




III, i 


12 


26 




IV, vi 


13 


21 




III, ii 


4 


10 




V, i 


2 


4 




III, iii 


3 


II 












IV, i 


I 


7 






95 


245 




IV, vi 


II 


39 


YoungMartius 


V, iii 


I 


2 




V, i 


6 


Jl 














66 


276 


RomanHerald 


n,i 


2 


6 





liv 



DISTRIBUTION OF CHARACTERS 



Iv 







no. of 


NO. OF 






no. of 


no. of 






speeches 


lines 






speeches 


LINES 


TULLUS 


I, ii 


4 


30 


2 Senator ) 
(Volscian) f 


I, ii 






AUFIDIUS 


I, viii 


3 


10 


2 


7 




I, X 


4 


32 


(Roman) 
(Roman) 


II, ii 


I 


I 




IV, V 


7 


56 


III, i 


3 


_5 




IV, vii 


4 


48 






6 


13 




V,ii 


I 


I 












V,iii 


3 


9 


A Patrician 


III,i 


2 


2 




V, vi 


J9 
45 


88 
274 


A Noble 


III, ii 


I 


I 










^dile 


Ill.i 


I 


I 


Lieutenant 


I, vii 


I 


I 




III, iii 

IV, vi 


8 


9 




IV, vii 


3 


II 




I 


6 














10 


~i6 






4 


12 










I Conspirator 


V, vi 


4 


10 


I Soldier 


I,iv 

I, X 


4 


7 


2 Conspirator 


V, vi 


4 


9 




4 


4 


3 Conspirator 


V, vi 


5 


14 






8 


II 


Citizen of ) 
Antium ) 


IV, iv 


3 


4 


2 Soldier 


I,iv 


I 


I 


I Watch 


V, ii 


12 


30 


I Citizen 


I, i 


II 


33 


2 Watch 


V, ii 


6 


II 




II, iii 
III,i 


6 
I 


9 
3 


Volumnia 


I, iii 


II 


47 




IV, vi 


_3 


J7_ 




II, i 


14 


39 






21 


52 




III, ii 


13 


78 










IV, i 


2 


7 


2 Citizen 


I, i 


II 


33 




IV, ii 


9 


34 




II, iii 


10 


16 




V, iii 


8 


103 




IV, vi 


2 


2 






57 


308 






23 


51 


ViRGILIA 


I, iii 


i6 


22 


3 Citizen 


II, iii 


12 


48 




II, i 


4 


4 




IV, vi 


I 


4 




IV, i 


I 


I 












IV, ii 


2 


4 






13 


52 




V, iii 


3 


6 
















— 


4 Citizen 


II, iii 


4 


8 






26 


37 


5 Citizen 


II, iii 


2 


3 










6 Citizen 


II, iii 


I 


2 


Valeria 


I, iii 

II, i 


13 
2 


38 
3 


7 Citizen 


II, iii 


I 


2 






15 


41 


Citizens 


II, iii 

III, i 


2 
9 


3 
10 


Gentlewoman 


I, iii 


I 


I 




III, iii 

IV, vi 


5 
_3_ 


7 
3 


I Senator 


I, i 


4 


7 






19 


23 


(Volscian^ 
(Volscian) 


I, ii 


3 


7 










I, iv 


I 


8 


I Messenger 


I,i 


2 


2 




II, ii 


5 


13 




I, iv 


2 


2 




III, i 


9 


17 




I,vi 


3 


9 




III,ii 


I 


3 




II, i 


I 


9 




III, iii 


I 


I 




IV, vi 


3 


II 


V, V 


I 


6 




V, iv 


I 


5 




25 


62 






12 


38 



Ivi 



THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 




THE TRAGEDY OF 
CORIOLANUS 



DRAMATIS PERSONS 1 

Caius Martius, afterwards Caius Martius Coriolanus^ 

Titus LartiuSj^I , • . .v ir i • 

„ . > generals against the Volscians 

COMINIUS,* J^ ^ 

Menenius Agrippa,^ friend to Coriolanus 

SiciNius Velutus,^") ^ ., - . , 

y tribunes of the people 
Junius Brutus, J r- r- 

Young Martius, son to Coriolanus 

Roman Herald 

TuLLUS AuFiDius,'^ general of the Volscians 

Lieutenant to Aufidius 

Conspirators with Aufidius 

Citizen of Antium 

Two Volscian Guards 

VoLUMNiA, mother to Coriolanus 
ViRGiLiA, wife to Coriolanus 
Valeria, friend to Virgilia 
Gentlewoman, attending on Virgilia 

Roman and Volscian Senators, Patricians, ./Ediles, Lictors, Soldiers, 
Citizens, Messengers, Servants to Aufidius, and other Attendants 

Scene ^ : Rome and the iieighbourhood ; Corioles ^ and the 
neighbourhood ; Antium ^^ 

1 DRAMATIS PERSONS. Rowe was the first to give a list of the 
characters. His list was imperfect, and subsequent editors enlarged it. 

2 Caius Martius Coriolanus. Pronounced ' ka'yus mar'shi-us co-ri-o- 
la'nus.' ' Martius ' is the form of the name as found in North's Plutarch and 
in the FoUos. The classical form is ' Marcius,' which Rowe was the first to 
introduce into the text of Shakespeare. 

8 Titus Lartius. Pronounced ' tl'tus lar'shi-us.' 

^ CoMiNius. Pronounced ' co-min'i-us.' 

s Menenius Agrippa. Pronounced 'me-ne'ni-us a-grip'a.' 

6 SiciNius Velutus. Pronounced ' si-sin'i-us ve-lu'tus.' 

7 TuLLUs Aufidius. Pronounced ' tuFus au-fid'i-us.' 

8 Scene: Rome . . . Antium Camb [The Scene is partly in Rome and 
partly in the Territory of the Volscians Rowe | The Scene is partly in Rome 
and partly in the Territories of the Volscians and Antiates Theobald I Ff omit. 

9 Corioles. Pronounced ' ko-rro-les.' ' Corioles ' is the form of the name as 
found in North's Plutarch. The Folios have ' Corioles,' with the variants 
' Coriolus,' ' Corialus.' The classical form is ' Corioli,' which Pope was the 
first to introduce into an edition of Shakespeare. 

10 Antium, Pronounced ' an'shi-um.' 



ACT I 

Scene I. Rome. A street 

Enter a company of mutinous Citizens, with staves, clubs, and 

other weapons 

I Citizen. Before we proceed any further, hear me 
speak. 

All. Speak, speak. 

I Citizen. You are all resolv'd rather to die than to 
famish 1 5 

All. Resolv'd, resolv'd. 

I Citizen. First, you know Caius Martius is chief enemy 
to the people. 

All. We know 't, we know 't. 

1 Citizen. Let us kill him, and we '11 have corn at our 
own price. Is 't a verdict ? . 11 

All. No more talking on 't; let it be done: away, 
away ! 

2 Citizen. One word, good citizens. 

ACT I. Scene I i Actus Primus. 7. Martius Ff | Marcius Rowe 

Scsena Prima Ff. — Rome. A sU'eet (and throughout the play). 
Camb I A street in Rome Pope | Ff 9. We know 't, we know 't Fi | 

omit. W^e know 't F2F3F4. 

For the dramatic construction and analysis of scenes, and the 
characters, see Introduction. 

ACT I. Scene I. In the Fohos the play is divided into acts 
(given with Latin nomenclature) but not into scenes. 

3 



4 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

1 Citizen. We are accounted poor citizens, the patricians 
good : what authority surfeits on would relieve us. If they 
would yield us but the superfluity while it were wholesome, 
we might guess they relieved us humanely ; but they think we 
are too dear : the leanness that afflicts us, the object of our 
misery, is as an inventory to particularize their abundance; 
our sufferance is a gain to them. Let us revenge this with 
our pikes, ere we become rakes : for the gods know I speak 
this in hunger for bread, not in thirst for revenge. 23 

2 Citizen. Would you proceed especially against Caiua, 
Martius ? 

All. Against him first : he 's a very dog to the com- 
monalty. 27 

2 Citizen. Consider you what services he has done for 
his country ? 

16. on F3F4 I one F1F2. 22. rakes Fi | raks F2 I Racks F3F4. 

15-23. " There grew sedition in the city, because the Senate did 
favour the rich against the people, who did complain of the sore 
oppression of usurers, of whom they borrowed money." — Plutarch. 

16. good : rich. A play on the ordinary meaning of the word in 
line 14. With this meaning of 'good' cf. The Merchant of Venice, 
I, iii, 15-17 : " my meaning in saying he is a good man is to have you 
understand me that he is sufficient." — authority: those in authority. 
The use of the abstract for the concrete is very common in Corio- 
lanus. So in lines 73, 206, 215, 216, 221, etc. 

19-20, the object of our misery : our misery set before them as a 
spectacle. The general meaning is. Looking at us helps them to 
take stock of their wealth. 

21. sufferance. Either (i) 'suffering' {ci. Julius Ccesar, H, i, 115), 
or (2) 'loss' (cf. Othello, II, i, 23). 

22. In ' pikes ' and ' rakes ' we have a play on words. ' Pike ' means 
both 'spear' and ' pitchfork.' Cf. the proverb, "as lean as a rake." 

26. a very dog : brutal, unfeeling. So Kent calls Regan and Goneril 
"dog-hearted daughters" {King Lear, IV, iii, 47). 



SCENE I CORIOLANUS 5 

1 Citizen. Very well, and could be content to give 
him good report for't, but that he pays himself with being 
proud. 32 

2 Citizen. Nay, but speak not maliciously. 

1 Citizen. I say unto you, what he hath done famously, 
he did it to that end : though soft-conscienc'd men can be 
content to say it was for his country, he did it to please his 
mother, and to be partly proud; which he is, even to the 
altitude of his virtue. 38 

2 Citizen. What he cannot help in his nature you account 
a vice in him : you must in no way say he is covetous. 

I Citizen. If I must not, I need not be barren of accu- 
sations : he hath faults, with surplus, to tire in repetition. 
\_Shoiits within?^ What shouts are these ? The other side o' 
th' city is risen : why stay we prating here ? to th' Capitol. 

All. Come, come. 45 

I Citizen. Soft ! who comes here ? 

33. 2 Citizen Malone I All Ff. 

30-31. give him good report : speak well of him. 

36-37. to please his mother. "And as for other, the only respect 
that made them valiant, was they hoped to have honour, but touch- 
ing Martius, the only thing that made him to love honour was the 
joy he saw his mother did take of him." — Plutarch. 

37. to be partly proud : partly to be proud. With the position 
of 'partly' compare that of 'only,' I, i, 230; 'almost,' I, ii, 24. Such 
transpositions are common. See Abbott, § 420. 

38. virtue: valour, courage. The original (Latin) meaning. "Now 
in those days, valiantness was honoured in Rome above all other 
virtues : which they call virtus^ by the name of virtue itself, as in- 
cluding ... all other special virtues besides." — Plutarch. 

42. repetition : recital. Cf. Macbeth, II, iii, 90. 
44. Capitol. The temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, on the Capi- 
toline hill, where the senate is represented as being assembled. 



6 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE agt i 

Enter Menenius Agrippa 

2 Citizen. Worthy Menenius Agrippa, one that hath 
always lov'd the people. 

1 Citizen. He 's one honest enough : would all the rest 
were so ! 50 

Menenius. What work 's, my countrymen, in hand ? where 
go you 
With bats and clubs ? The matter speak, I pray you. 

2 Citizen. Our business is not unknown to th' senate : 
they have had inkling this fortnight what we intend to do, 
which now we '11 show 'em in deeds : they say poor suitors 
have strong breaths ; they shall know we have strong arms 
too. 57 

Menenius. Why, masters, my good friends, mine honest 
neighbours, 
Will you undo yourselves ? 

2 Citizen. We cannot, sir, we are undone already. 60 
Menenius. I tell you, friends, most charitable care 
Have the patricians of you : for your wants, 
Your suffering in this dearth, you may as well 

47. Scene II Pope. — matter | F1F2 I matter? Johnson. 

51-52. Three lines in Ff, ending 53. 2 Citizen i 2 Cit. Ff | i Cit. 

with ' hand,' ' matter,' ' you.' Capell and most modern editors 

52. With Fi 1 with your F2F3F4. (throughout the scene). 

47. Menenius Agrippa. " The Senate . . . did send unto them cer- 
tain of the pleasantest old men, and the most acceptable to the 
people among them. Of those Menenius Agrippa was he, who was 
sent for chief man of the message from the Senate." — Plutarch. 

53. "The 'First Citizen' is a hater of public men, — the ' Second' 
of public measures; the first would kill Coriolanus, — the second 
would repeal the laws relating to corn and usury. He says not one 
word against Coriolanus." — Knight. 



si;ene I CORIOLANUS / 

Strike at the heaven with your staves as lift them 

Against the Roman state, whose course will on 65 

The way it takes, cracking ten thousand curbs 

Of more strong link asunder than can ever 

Appear in your impediment. For the dearth. 

The gods, not the patricians, make it, and 

Your knees to them, not arms, must help. Alack, 70 

Ydu are transported by calamity 

Thither where more attends you, and you slander 

The helms o' th' state, who care for you like fathers, 

When you curse them as enemies. 74 

2 Citizen. Care for us ! True, indeed 1 they ne'er car'd 
for us yet : suffer us to famish, and their store-houses 
cramm'd with grain ; make edicts for usury, to support usu- 
rers ; repeal daily any wholesome act established against the 
rich, and provide more piercing statutes daily, to chain up 
and restrain the poor. If the wars eat us not up, they will ; 
and there 's all the love they bear us. 81 

Menenius. Either you must 
Confess yourselves wondrous malicious, 
Or be accus'd of folly. I shall tell you 
A pretty tale : it may be you have heard it, 85 

68. your impediment : hindrance on your part. Cf. Othello, V, ii, 

^ I have made my way through more impediments 

Than twenty times your stop. 

70. Your knees to them, not arms : you must make supplication to 
the gods and not insurrection against the state. 

71-72. transported . . . attends you : carried away by calamity to 
do what can only bring further calamity. 

73. helms : helmsmen. The abstract for the concrete. 

77. usury. See quotation from Plutarch, lines 15-23. 



8 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

But, since it serves my purpose, I will venture 
To stale 't a little more. 

2 Citizen. Well, I '11 hear it, sir : yet you must not 
think to fob off our disgrace with a tale : but, and 't please 
you, deliver. 90 

Menenius. There was a time when all the body's members 
Rebell'd against the belly ; thus accus'd it : 
That only like a gulf it did remain 
I' th' midst o' th' body, idle and unactive, 
Still cupboarding the viand, never bearing 95 

Like labour with the rest, where th' other instruments 
Did see, and hear, devise, instruct, walk, feel, 
And, mutually participate, did minister 
Unto the appetite and affection common 
Of the whole body. The belly answer 'd — 100 

2 Citizen. Well, sir, what answer made the belly ? 

87. stale Theobald I scale Ff. ing Rowe I cubbording Ff. 

89. and 't Ff | an't Hanmer. loo. answer'd — Rowe | answer'd. 

95, cupboarding Pope | cupbord- F1F4 I answer. F2 I answers, F3. 

87. stale : make stale. Cf . Antony and Cleopatra, II, ii, 240 ; Julius 
CcBsar, I, ii, 73. ' Scale,' the reading of the Folios, has been defended 
as meaning ' strip off the husk,' or it may ^be defended as meaning 
' scatter,' a sense still common in English and Scottish dialect. 

89. fob off: deceitfully put aside. Cf. 'fubb'd off,' 2 Henry IV, II, 
i, 37; 'fobb'd'C cheated," deceived'), i Henry IV, I, ii, 68. — and: if. 
Usually printed ' an ' in modern editions. 

95. Still: continually. So in II, i, 237; II, ii, 130; IV, i, 28. — 
cupboarding: putting into itself (as into a cupboard). 

96. where: whereas. Frequently so. a.\,y.,\y, King Lear,\,\\,^c). 

98. participate : participating in each other's functions. In Eliza- 
bethan English, passive forms were often used for active and, con- 
versely, active for passive. For forms in -ate and the omission of -ed 
after d and t, see Abbott, § 342. 

99. affection: inclination. Cf. line 172; Romeo and Juliet, 1,\, 133. 



SCENE I CO RIO LAN US 9 

Menenius. Sir, I shall tell you. With a kind of smile, 
Which ne'er came from the lungs, but even thus 
(For, look you, I may make the belly smile 
As well as speak) it tauntingly replied 105 

To the discontented members, the mutinous parts 
That envied his receipt : even so most fitly. 
As you malign our senators, for that 
They are not such as you. 

2 Citizen. Your belly's answer .? What ! 

The kingly-crown'd head, the vigilant eye, iio 

The counsellor heart, the arm our soldier, 
Our steed the leg, the tongue our trumpeter. 
With other muniments and petty helps 
In this our fabric, if that they — 

Menenius. What then ? 

Fore me, this fellow speaks 1 What then ? what then ? 115 

2 Citizen. Should by the cormorant belly be re- 
strain'd. 
Who is the sink o' th' body, — 

Menenius. Well, what then ? 

2 Citizen. The former agents, if they did complain, 
What could the belly answer ? 

Menenius. I will tell you, 

105. tauntingly F4 I taintinglyFi | tantingly F2F3. 

102. smile. " The belly . . . laughed at their folly." — Plutarch. 

103. The lungs were regarded as the seat of laughter. 

107. his receipt : what it received. ' Its ' was just coming into use in 
Shakespeare's day. See Abbott, § 228. 

109. The heightened emotional intensity of the Second Citizen 
now finds expression in blank verse. 

115. Fore me. A mild oath, probably softened down from 'before 
God.' Menenius resents the interruptions. 



lO THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

If you '11 bestow a small (of what you have little) 1 20 

Patience awhile ; you 'st hear the belly's answer. 

2 Citizen. Ye 're long about it. 

Menenius. Note me this, good friend ; 

Your most grave belly was deliberate, 
Not rash like his accusers, and thus answered : 
' True is it, my incorporate friends,' quoth he, 125 

' That I receive the general food at first, 
Which you do live upon ; and fit it is, 
Because I am the store-house and the shop 
Of the whole body. But, if you do remember, 
I send it through the rivers of your blood, 130 

Even to the court, the heart, to th' seat o' th' brain, 
And through the cranks and offices of man. 
The strongest nerves and small inferior veins 
From me receive that natural competency 
Whereby they live. And though that all at once 135 

You, my good friends ' — this says the belly, mark me — 

2 Citizen. Ay, sir; well, well. 

Menenius. ' Though all at once cannot 

See what I do deliver out to each, 

121. you'st. A provincialism, probably for 'you shall.' 

122. me : for me. An ethical dative. See Abbott, § 220. 
125. incorporate : united in one body. See note, line 98. 

131. th' seat 0' th' brain : "the kingly-crowned head, where reason 
has its throne, while the attendant passions keep their court in the 
heart." — Clar. Some editors take ' th' seat o' th' brain' to be in ap- 
position with ' heart ' and refer to ' the counsellor heart,' line 1 11. 

132. cranks and offices : windings and apartments. 

133. nerves: sinews. The words 'nerve,' 'vein,' 'artery,' and 
'sinew' were often used interchangeably by Elizabethan writers. 

136. You . . . belly. The Folios print this as a parenthesis. 



SCENE I CORIOLANUS II 

Yet I can make my audit up, that all 

From me do back receive the flour of all, 140 

And leave me but the bran.' What say you to 't ? 

2 Citizen. It was an answer : how apply you this ? 

Menenius. The senators of Rome are this good belly, 
And you the mutinous members : for examine 
Their counsels and their cares ; disgest things rightly 145 
Touching the weal o' th' common, you shall find 
No public benefit which you receive 
But it proceeds or comes from them to you. 
And no way from yourselves. What do you think, 
You, the great toe of this assembly ? ^ 1 50 

2 Citizen. I the great toe 1 Why the great toe ? 

Menenius. For that, being one o' th' lowest, basest, poorest 
Of this most wise rebellion, thou goest foremost : 
Thou rascal, that art worst in blood to run, 

140. flour I Flowre F1F2 I Flowr F3F4. 

140. flour. The original meaning of 'flour' is 'flower (that is, 
finest part or quality) of meal.' See textual variants. 

143-144. The fable of " The Belly and the Members " is found in 
collections attributed to ^sop, while a much earlier version exists 
in an Egyptian papyrus of the twentieth dynasty. It is also extant in 
the literatures of the Far East. Shakespeare was chiefly indebted to 
Plutarch, but he probably knew the version in Camden's Remaines, 
which has some points not in Plutarch. See Introduction, Sources. 

145. disgest: digest. Both forms were common. ' Disgest ' is still 
found in English and Scottish dialect. 

146. weal 0' th' common: common weal. Cf. II, iii, 176. 

154. rascal . . .worst in blood to run. From the chase. A 'rascal' 
was a young, lean, or inferior deer, and hence not fitted to lead the 
herd. Cf. / Henry VI, IV, ii, 48-49 : 

If we be English deer, be then in blood, 
Not rascal-like to fall down with a pinch. 



12 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

Lead'st first to win some vantage. 155 

But make you ready your stiff bats and clubs : 
Rome and her rats are at the point of battle ; 
The one side must have bale. 

Enter Caius Martius 

Hail, noble Martius ! 

Martius. Thanks. What 's the matter, you dissentious 
rogues, 
That, rubbing the poor itch of your opinion, 160 

Make yourselves scabs t 

I Citizen. We have ever your good word. 

Martius. He that will give good words to thee will flatter 
Beneath abhorring. What would you have, you curs, 
That like nor peace, nor war ? the one affrights you, 
The other makes you proud. He that trusts to you, 165 
Where he should find you lions, finds you hares : 
Where foxes, geese you are : no surer, no, 
Than is the coal of fire upon the ice. 
Or hailstone in the sun. Your virtue is 
To make him worthy whose offence subdues him, 170 

158, bale Theobald | baile F1F2 I 167. geese you are: no | Geese 

bail FsF4. — Scene III Pope. you are : No Ff | geese : you are no 

162. thee Ff | ye Dyce. Camb Globe. 

157. rats. The significance of the word is seen in lines 244-245. 

158. have bale : meet with calamity. With ' bale ' compare ' baleful.' 
161. scabs. Literally and figuratively. Cf. Much Ado About Moth- 

ing, III, iii, 106-107. 

167. The modern punctuation (see textual variants) makes the 
form of expression more commonplace. — surer : more constant. 

169-171. Your virtue ... did it : you are good for nothing but to 
set value on those who are punished for their offences, and to curse 
the justice which punished them. 



SCENE I CORIOLANUS 1 3 

And curse that justice did it. Who deserves greatness 

Deserves your hate ; and your affections are 

A sick man's appetite, who desires most that 

Which would increase his evil. He that depends 

Upon your favours swims with fins of lead, 175 

And hews down oaks with rushes. Hang ye ! trust ye ? 

With every minute you do change a mind, 

And call him noble that was now your hate. 

Him vile that was your garland. What 's the matter, 

That in these several places of the city 180 

You cry against the noble senate, who 

Under the gods, keep you in awe, which else 

Would feed on one another ? What 's their seeking ? 

Menenius. For com at their own rates, whereof, they say. 
The city is well stor'd. 

Martius. Hang 'em ! They say! 185 

They '11 sit by th' fire, and presume to know 
What 's done i' th' Capitol : who 's like to rise. 
Who thrives and who declines : side factions, and give out 
Conjectural marriages, making parties strong. 
And feebling such as stand not in their liking 190 

Below their cobbled shoes. They say there 's grain enough ! 
Would the nobility lay aside their ruth, 

173. sick man's | sick mans F4 I 179. vile F4 I vilde F1F2F3. 

sickmans F1F2F3. 180. these Ff | the Rowe. 

171. that justice did it : that justice which did it. For the appar- 
ent omission of the relative see Abbott, § 244. 

179. your garland : garlanded by you. Cf. I, ix, 60. 

188. side : countenance. Cf. the intransitive sense, IV, ii, 2. 

190. feebling : treating as feeble, depreciating. Cf. King John, V, 
ii, 146 : " Shall that victorious hand be feebled here." 

192. ruth: pity, compassion. Cf. Richard II, III, iv, 106. 



14 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

And let me use my sword, I 'd make a quarry 

With thousands of these quarter 'd slaves, as high 

As I could pick my lance. 195 

Menenius. Nay, these are almost thoroughly persuaded : 
For though abundantly they lack discretion. 
Yet are they passing cowardly. But, I beseech you. 
What says the other troop ? 

Martius. They are dissolv'd : hang 'em ! 

They said they were an-hungry, sigh'd forth proverbs, 200 
That hunger broke stone walls, that dogs must eat. 
That meat was made for mouths, that the gods sent not 
Corn for the rich men only : with these shreds 
They vented their complainings, which being answer'd 
And a petition granted them, a strange one 205 

(To break the heart of generosity. 
And make bold power look pale) they threw their caps 
As they would hang them on the horns o' th' moon, 
Shouting their emulation. 

209. Shouting Pope | Shooting Ff. 

193-194. I *d . . . slaves : I would quarter and make a quarry of 
thousands of these slaves. — quarry : a heap of game. A hunter's 
expression. — quarter'd. With this proleptic or anticipatory use of 
the perfect participle cf. ' cloven,' I, iv, 21. 

195. pick : thrust, hurl, skin to ' pitch.' A variant is ' peck,' found 
in Henry VIII, V, iv, 94 : ''I 'H peck you o'er the pales else." 

200. proverbs. " Proverbial expressions and trite sayings are the 
flowers of the rhetoric of a vulgar man. ... A man of fashion never 
has recourse to proverbs and vulgar aphorisms." — Lord Chesterfield 
(Letter CLXiii). 

206. generosity : nobility, those of noble birth. The original (Latin) 
meaning. Cf. Measure for Measure^ IV, vi, 13 : "the generous and 
gravest citizens." 

209. Shouting their emulation : rivaling each other in shouting. 



SCENE I CORIOLANUS 1$: 

Menenius. What is granted them ? 

Martius. Five tribunes to defend their vulgar wisdoms, 
Of their own choice. One's Junius Brutus, 211 

Sicinius Velutus, and I know not — 'S death ! 
The rabble should have first unroof'd the city 
Ere so prevail'd with me : it will in time 
Win upon power, and throw forth greater themes 215 

For insurrection's arguing. 

Menenius. This is strange. 

Martius. Go, get you home, you fragments ! 

Enter a Messenger hastily 

Messenger. Where 's Caius Martius ? 
Martius. Here : what 's the matter t 

Messenger. The news is, sir, the Volsces are in arms. 
Martius. I am glad on 't : then we shall ha' means to vent 
Our musty superfluity. See, our best elders ! 221 

213. unroof'd Theobald | vnroo'fl surrections Ff. 
Ff (see note below). 219, 223, etc. Volsces | Volcies 

216. insurrection's Theobald i In- F1F2F3 I Volscies F4. 

212. and I know not. Plutarch names buftwo ; hence Shakespeare's 
lack of knowledge. — 'S death : God's death. A petty oath. 

213. The similarity of the old form of the letter s with that of y" 
readily accounts for the typographical error in the Folios shown in 
the textual variants. 

215-216. Win upon power : encroach upon those in power, the aris- 
tocracy. The abstract for the concrete. See note, line 16. — themes 
For insurrection's arguing : subjects of argument for those who make 
an insurrection. 

217. fragments. Cf. 'tag-rag ^eo^lo,,'' Julius Ccesar, I, ii, 256. 
221. musty superfluity: superfluity of plebeians that have gone bad. 

Apparently a play on the " superfluity while it were wholesome," 
mentioned in line 17, although Martius was not present when that 
speech was made. 



l6 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE -act i 

Enter Cominius, Titus Lartius, and other Senators ; 
Junius Brutus and Sicinius Velutus 

I Senator. Martius, 't is true that you have lately told us : 
The Volsces are in arms. 

Martius. They have a leader, 

Tullus Aufidius, that will put you to 't. 
I sin in envying his nobility ; 225 

And were I any thing but what I am, 
I would wish me only he. 

Cominius. You have fought together ? 

Martius. Were half to half the world by the ears, and he 
Upon my party, I 'd revolt to make 

Only my wars with him. He is a lion 230 

That I am proud to hunt. 

I Senator. Then, worthy Martius, 

Attend upon Cominius to these wars. 

Cominius. It is your former promise. 

Martius. Sir, it is. 

And I am constant. Titus Lartius, thou 
Shalt see me once more strike at Tullus* face. 235 

What, art thou 'stiff 1 Stand 'st out t 

Titus. No, Caius Martius ; 

I '11 lean upon one crutch, and fight with t' other. 
Ere stay behind this business. 

oat. Enter . . . Senators I Enter Titus Lartius (Lucius F4) , with other 
Sicinius Velutus, Annius (Junius F4) Senatours Ff . — Scene IV Pope. 
Brutus Cominius (Cominisn Fi), 234. Lartius Rowe | Lucius Ff. 

224. put you to 't : give you work enough. A colloquialism. 

229. Upon my party : on my side. Cf. I, x, 7. 

230. Only my wars with him : my wars with him only. Such trans- 
positions are common. Cf. Hne 37. See Abbott, § 420. 



SCENE I CORIOLANUS 1/ 

Menenius. O, true-bred ! 

I Senator. Your company to th' Capitol, where, I know, 
Our greatest friends attend us. 

Titus. [To Cominius] Lead you on. 240 

[To Martius] Follow Cominius ; we must follow you, 
Right worthy you priority. 

Cominius. Noble Martius. 

I Senator. [To the Citizens] Hence to your homes ; be 
gone ! 

Martius. Nay, let them follow : 
The Volsces have much corn : take these rats thither 
To gnaw their garners. Worshipful mutiners, 245 

Your valour puts well forth : pray, follow. 

[Citizens steal away. Exeunt all but Sicinius and Brutus] 

Sicinius. Was ever man so proud as is this Martius ? 

Brutus. He has no equal. 

Sicinius. When we were chosen tribunes for the people, — 

Brutus. Mark'd you his lip and eyes ? 

Sicinius. Nay, but his taunts. 

Brutus. Being mov'd, he will not spare to gird the gods. 

Sicinius. Bemock the modest moon. 252 

239> 243. I Senator | Sen. Ff. | prose in Ff. 
240,241. [TbCoMiNius] [ToMar- 243. [7b //z^ Citizens] Ff omit. 

Tius] Camb | Ff omit. 246. [. . . Exeunt . . . Brutus] Ma- 

240-242. Lead you . . . you priority nent (Manet Fi) Sicin. and Brutus Ff. 

245. mutiners. Cf. 'enginer,'j!%!z«/^/, III, iv, 206; ' pioner,' (9//^^/A7, 
III, iii, 346. See Abbott, § 443. 

245-246. The valour of the plebeians will display itself in gnawing 

the garners of the Volsces. The figure in ' puts forth ' is seen in 

Henry VIII, III, ii, 352-353 : 

to-day he puts forth 

The tender leaves of hopes, to-morrow blossoms. 
251. gird : jest at, taunt. The original sense is to strike. 



l8 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

Brutus. The present wars devour him ! he is grown 
Too proud to be so valiant. 

SiciNius. Such a nature, 

Tickled with good success, disdains the shadow 255 

Which he treads on at noon, but I do wonder 
His insolence can brook to be commanded 
Under Cominius. 

Brutus. Fame, at the which he aims, 

In whom already he 's well grac'd, cannot 
Better be held, nor more attain'd, than by 260 

A place below the first : for what miscarries 
Shall be the general's fault, though he perform 
To th' utmost of a man, and giddy censure 
Will then cry out of Martins : ' O, if he 
Had borne the business.' 

SiciNius. Besides, if things go well, 265 

Opinion, that so sticks on Martins, shall 
Of his demerits rob Cominius. 

Brutus. Come : 

Half all Cominius' honours are to Martins, 

253. The present . . . devour him : may the present wars destroy him ! 
Optative rather than indicative. Some editors explain this as an as- 
sertion : " the present wars eat up his gentler qualities." — Steevens. 
" The wars absorb him wholly." — Clarke. 

254. to be : of being. Cf. The Merchant of Venice, I, i, 127 : "Nor 
do I now make moan to be abridg'd." See Abbott, § 356. 

235. success : that which follows, outcome, result. So in I, vi, 7 ; 
V, i, 62. In I, ix, 75 ; II, ii, 41, the word has its ordinary meaning. 

259. whom: which. Cf. Ill, ii, 119. See Abbott, § 264. 

267. demerits : merits. The original (Latin) meaning. Cf. Othello, 
I, ii, 22. In Macbeth, IV, iii, 226, the word has its usual meaning. 
" In Romanic the prefix appears to have been taken in a privative 
sense." — Murray. ' Due merits ' is a suggested emendation. 



SCENE II CORIOLANUS 1 9 

Though Martius earn'd them not ; and all his faults 

To Martius shall be honours, though indeed 270 

In aught he merit not. 

SiciNius. Let 's hence, and hear 

How the dispatch is made ; and in what fashion, 
More than his singularity, he goes 
Upon this present action. 

Brutus. Let 's along. \Exeuni\ 

Scene IL Cofioles. The Senate-house 

Enter Tullus Aufidius with Senators 

I Senator. So, your opinion is, Aufidius, 
That they of Rome are ent'red in our counsels. 
And know how we proceed. 

Aufidius. Is it not yours 1 

What ever have been thought on in this state, 
That could be brought to bodily act ere Rome 5 

Had circumvention ? 'T is not four days gone 

Scene II Rowe | Scene V Pope | i. Enter . . . with Senators | 

Ff omit. — Corioles \ Ff omit. — The with Senators of Coriolus Ff. 
Senate-house Pope Capell | Ff omit. 4. on F3F4 I one F1F2. 

272-273, How the dispatch is made : with what form of commission 
the generals are sent to the war. — in what . . , his singularity : in 
what style or character other than his usual assumption of superiority. 
' Singularity' here has reference to characteristic behaviour. 

2. in : into. In Old EngHsh ' in ' meant ' in ' when used with the 
dative, and 'into' when used with the accusative. Remnants of 'in' 
meaning 'into ' still exist in such phrases as ' cut in two,' 'fall in love.' 

4. What: what counsels. It refers back to line 2. — have. The 
reading of the First Folio ; the other Folios have 'hath.' 

5. bodily act : accomplished fact. 

6. Had circumvention : found a way to frustrate them. 



20 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

Since I heard thence : these are the words ; I think 

I have the letter here ; yes, here it is : 

^^J^eads] ' They have press'd a power, but it is not known 

Whether for east or west : the dearth is great ; lo 

The people mutinous : and it is rumour'd, 

Cominius, Martius your old enemy 

(Who is of Rome worse hated than of you). 

And Titus Lartius, a most valiant Roman, 

These three lead on this preparation 15 

Whither 't is bent : most likely 't is for you : 

Consider of it' 

I Senator. Our army 's in the field : 
We never yet made doubt but Rome was ready 
To answer us. 

AuFiDius. Nor did you think it folly 
To keep your great pretences veil'd till when 20 

9. [^Reads] Camb | Reading Theobald | Ff omit. 

9. press'd a power : levied a force. " The common people, being 
set on a broil and bravery with these words, would not appear when 
the Consuls called their names by a bill, to prest them for the wars. 
. . , Martius then, who was now grown to great credit, and a stout man 
besides, and of great reputation with the noblest men of Rome, rose up, 
and openly spake against these flattering Tribunes . . . but to the wars 
the people by no means would be brought or constrained." — Plutarch. 
With ' press'd ' compare Richard II, III,ii, 58-59 : 

For every man that Bolingbroke hath press'd, 
To lift shrewd steel against our golden crown. 

15. preparation: military force. Cf. Othello, I, iii, 221-222 : "The 
Turk with a most mighty preparation makes for Cyprus." 
20. pretences : intentions. Cf. Macbeth, II, iii, 136-138: 

In the great hand of God I stand, and thence, 
Against the undivulg'd pretence I fight 
Of treasonous maHce. 



SCENE II CORIOLANUS 21 

They needs must show themselves ; which in the hatching, 
It seem'd, appear'd to Rome. By the discovery 
We shall be short'ned in our aim, which was 
To take in many towns ere almost Rome 
Should know we were afoot. 

2 Senator. Noble Aufidius, 25 

Take your commission ; hie you to your bands : 
Let us alone to guard Corioles : 
If they set down before 's, for the remove 
Bring up your army : but, I think, you '11 find 
They 've not prepar'd for us. 

Aufidius. O, doubt not that ; 30 

I speak from certainties. Nay, more. 
Some parcels of their power are forth already. 
And only hitherward. I leave your honours. 
If we and Caius Martius chance to meet, 
'Tis sworn between us, we shall ever strike 35 

Till one can do no more. 

All. The gods assist you ! 

Aufidius. And keep your honours safe ! 

1 Senator. Farewell. 

2 Senator. Farewell. 
All. Farewell. [£lxeunf\ 

27. Corioles Fi I Coriolus F2F3F4 30. They 've | Th' haue Ff. 

I Corioli Pope. (So in I, iii, 96, etc.) 38. [Exeunt] Exeunt omnes Fi. 

24. take in : capture. The ' in ' is intensive, and the expression 
implies ' take into one's own hands.' Cf. Ill, ii, 59 ; Antony and Cleo- 
patra, I, i, 22-23. — ®^® almost Rome: almost before Rome. Cf. I, i, 
37, 230. '' Such transpositions are most natural and frequent in the 
case of adverbs of limitation." — Abbott. 

28-29. If they . . . your army : if the Romans besiege us, bring up 
your army to remove them. 



22 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

Scene III. Rome. A room in Martius' house 

Enter Volumnia and Virgilia : they set them down on two 
low stools, and sew 

Volumnia. I pray you, daughter, sing, or express your- 
self in a more comfortable sort : if my son were my husband, 
I should freelier rejoice in that absence wherein he won 
honour than in the embracements of his bed where he would 
show most love. When yet he was but tender-bodied, and the 
only son of my womb ; when youth with comeliness pluck 'd 
all gaze his way ; when, for a day of kings' entreaties, a mother 
should not sell him an hour from her beholding, I, consider- 
ing how honour would become such a person, that it was no 
better than picture-like to hang by the wall, if renown made 
it not stir, was pleas'd to let him seek danger where he was 
like to find fame. To a cruel war I sent him ; from whence 
he return'd, his brows bound with oak. I tell thee, daughter, 
I sprang not more in joy at first hearing he was a man-child 
than now in first seeing he had proved himself a man. 15 

Scene III Rowe | Scene VI Pope them down . . . Rowe | Enter Volum- 

I Ff omit. — Rome Rowe | Ff omit. — nia and Virgilia, mother and wife to 

A room . . . house Capell | Ff omit. Martius : They set them downe . . . Ff. 

1. Etiter Volumnia . . . they set 3. should F1F2F3 I would F4. 

2. comfortable : comforting. "Adjectives in -ble were originally 
active (and neuter) as well as passive. Many of the former exist in 
English, e.g. capable, comfortable, suitable . . . but the majority have 
become obsolete or remain only with a passive force, as in credible, 
audible, flexible, which is also the only use of -able as a living forma- 
tive." — Murray. See Abbott, § 3. 

12. war. The battle of Lake Regillus. '' Hereupon, after the battle 
was won, the Dictator . . . crowned Martius with a garland of oaken 
boughs. For whosoever saveth the life of a Roman, it is the manner 
among them, to honour him with such a garland." — Plutarch. 



SCENE III CORIOLANUS 23 

ViRGiLiA. But had he died in the business, madam, how 
then ? 

VoLUMNiA. Then his good report should have been my 
son : I therein would have found issue. Hear me profess 
sincerely : had I a dozen sons, each in my love alike, and 
none less dear than thine and my good Martius, I had rather 
had eleven die nobly for their country than one voluptuously 
surfeit out of action. 23 

Enter a Gentlewoman 

Gentlewoman. Madam, the Lady Valeria is come to 
visit you. 

ViRGiLiA. Beseech you, give me leave to retire myself. 

VoLUMNiA. Indeed, you shall not. 
Methinks I hear hither your husband's drum; 
See him pluck Aufidius down by the hair ; 
As children from a bear, the Volsces shunning him : 
Methinks I see him stamp thus, and call thus : 30 

' Come on, you cowards ! you were got in fear, 
Though you were born in Rome ' ; his bloody brow 
With his mail'd hand then wiping, forth he goes, 
Like to a harvest-man that 's task'd to mow 
Or all, or lose his hire. 35 

ViRGiLiA. His bloody brow ! O Jupiter, no blood ! 

VoLUMNiA. Away, you fool ! it more becomes a man 
Than gilt his trophy. The breasts of Hecuba, 
When she did suckle Hector, look'd not lovelier 

31, on, you F1F2 I on ye F3F4. what's F8F4. 

34. that 's I thats F2 I that Fi | 35. lose F3F4 I loose F1F2. 

25. Beseech : I beseech. — retire myself. The reflexive use of 
verbs was common in Elizabethan English. See Abbott, § 296. 



24 



THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 



Than Hector's forehead when it spit forth blood 40 

At Grecian sword contending : tell Valeria, 

We are fit to bid her welcome. \Exit Gentlewoman] 

ViRGiLiA. Heavens bless my lord from fell Aufidius ! 

VoLUMNiA. He '11 beat Aufidius' head below his knee, 
And tread upon his neck. 45 

Enter Valeria with an Usher and a Gentlewoman 

Valeria. My ladies both, good day to you. 

VoLUMNiA. Sweet madanl. 

Virgilia. I am glad to see your ladyship. 

Valeria. How do you both ? You are manifest house- 
keepers. What are you sewing here ? A fine spot in good 
faith. How does your little son ? 51 

Virgilia. I thank your ladyship : well, good madam. 

VoLUMNiA. He had rather see the swords, and hear a 
drum, than look upon his schoolmaster. 

Valeria. O' my word, the father's son : I '11 swear 't is a 
very pretty boy. O' my troth, I look'd upon him o' Wednes- 
day half an hour together : has such a confirm 'd countenance. 

41. sword contending: telll sword, F3 I swords contending: 'tell F4 I 
Contemiing,t€i\.Y\\syNOxdL&?, Contend- sword, contemning. Tell Camb | 
wz§-; tell F2 1 swords Contending: tell swords' contending, — Tell Capell. 

41. sword contending : tell. As the variants show, this is one of the 
textual difficulties of the play. The First Folio reading would sug- 
gest that ' Contenning ' is the name of a servant (cf. ' Cotus,' IV, v, 3),^ 
proper names being almost invariably italicized. Some editors take 
' Contenning ' as a corrupted stage direction. 

49-50. house-keepers. Possibly a play on the word in the sense of 
* stayers at home.' With this meaning compare Cymbeline, III, iii, i. 
— fine spot : delicate pattern in embroidery. Desdemona's handker- 
chief was " spotted with strawberries," Othello, III, iii, 435. 

57. confirm'd : resolute, determined. Frequently so. 



SCENE III CORIOLANUS 25 

I saw him run after a gilded butterfly, and when he caught 
it, he let it go again, and after it again, and over and over he 
comes, and up again : catch'd it again : or whether his fall 
enrag'd him, or how 't was, he did so set his teeth, and tear 
it. O, I warrant how he mammock'd it. 

VoLUMNiA. One on 's father's moods. 

Valeria. Indeed, la, 't is a noble child. 

ViRGiLiA. A crack, madam. 65 

Valeria. Come, lay aside your stitchery ; I must have 
you play the idle huswife with me this afternoon. 

ViRGiLiA. No, good madam, I will not out of doors. 

Valeria. Not out of doors ! 

VoLUMNiA. She shall, she shall. 70 

ViRGiLiA. Indeed, no, by your patience ; I '11 not over the 
threshold till my lord return from the wars. 

Valeria. Fie, you confine yourself most unreasonably : 
come, you must go visit the good lady that lies in. 

Virgilia. I will wish her speedy strength, and visit her 
with my prayers : but I cannot go thither. 76 

VoLUMNiA. Why, I pray you ? 

Virgilia. 'T is not to save labour, nor that I want love. 

Valeria. You would be another Penelope : yet they say 
all the yarn she spun in Ulysses' absence did but fill Ithaca 

63. on 's F1F2F3 ! o 's ¥4. 80. yarn F3F4 I yearne F1F2. — 

68. Two lines in Ff. Ithaca F3F4 I Athica F1F2. 

58. gilded. The epithet " hints at the superficial gloriousness of 
Coriolanus' ideal." — E. K. Chambers. 

62. mammock'd : tore to pieces. Still heard in dialect. 

65. crack : lively lad. So in Shallow's account of the boy Jack 
Falstaff, 2 Henry IV, III, ii, 32-34: " I see him break Skogan's head 
at the court-gate, when a was a crack, not thus high." 

79. Shakespeare's only allusion to the wife of Ulysses. 



26 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

full of moths. Come ; I would your cambric were sensible 
as your finger, that you might leave pricking it for pity. 
Come, you shall go with us. 

ViRGiLiA. No, good madam, pardon me ; indeed, I will 
not forth. 85 

Valeria. In truth, la, go with me, and I '11 tell you ex- 
cellent news of your husband. 

ViRGiLiA. O, good madam, there can be none yet. 

Valeria. Verily, I do not jest with you : there came news 
from him last night. 9° 

ViRGiLiA. Indeed, madam ? 

Valeria. In earnest, it 's true ; I heard a senator speak 
it. Thus it is : the Volsces have an army forth, against whom 
Cominius the general is gone, with one part of our Roman 
power. Your lord and Titus Lartius are set down before 
their city Corioles ; they nothing doubt prevailing, and to 
make it brief wars. This is true, on mine honour, and so, I 
pray, go with us. 

ViRGiLiA. Give me excuse, good madam ; I will obey you 
in every thing hereafter. 100 

VoLUMNiA. Let her alone, lady : as she is now, she will 
but disease our better mirth. 

101-107. Irregular verse in Ff. 

81. moths. A play on words. The 'moths' are the suitors that 
gathered about Penelope, the word suggesting also the long period 
of her waiting for the return of Ulysses. — sensible : sensitive. For 
forms in -ble see note, line 2. 

96. nothing doubt : do not for a moment doubt. 

102. disease : deprive of ease, disquiet. The original meaning. 
' Disease ' in this sense is probably the correct reading in Macbeth^ 
V, iii, 21. — our better mirth: our mirth that would be better with- 
out her. ' Better ' is proleptic. See note on 'quarter'd,' I, i, 193-194. 



SCENE IV CORIOLANUS 2/ 

Valeria. In troth I think she would : fare you well, then. 
Come, good sweet lady. Prithee, Virgilia, turn thy solemnness 
out o' door, and go along with us. 105 

Virgilia. No, at a word, madam ; indeed, I must not. 
I wish you much mirth. 

Valeria. Well, then, farewell. [£:xeunt] 



Scene IV. Before Corioles 

Enter, with drum and colours, Martius, Titus Lartius, 
Captains and Soldiers : to them a Messenger 

Martius. Yonder comes news : a wager they have met. 
Lartius. My horse to yours, no. 
Martius. 'T is done. 

Lartius. Agreed. 

Martius. Say, has our general met the enemy ? 
Messenger. They lie in view, but have not spoke as yet. 
Lartius. So, the good horse is mine. 
Martius. I '11 buy him of you. 

Lartius. No, I '11 nor sell nor give him : lend you him I will 
For half a hundred years. Summon the town. 7 

105. 0' Theobald | a Ff. i. Enter . . . Soldiers | Enter 
108. [Exeimt] 'Exeunt 'Ladies Fi. Martius, Titus Lartius, with Drumme 
Scene IV Rowel Scene VII Pope and Colours, with Captaines and 

I Ff omit. — Befo7-e Corioles \ The Souldiers, as before the City Corio- 
walls of Coriolus Rowe | Ff omit. lus (Corialus Fi) Ff. 

106. at a word : once for all. Cf. Much Ado About Nothing, 
II, i, 118. 

1-7. In Plutarch no mention is made of a wager, but after the 
battle, as in I, ix, 60-62, Cominius presents Coriolanus with a "noble 
steed . . . with all his trim belonging." 

7. Summon the town : summon the town to surrender. 



28 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

Martius. How far off lie these armies ? 

Messenger. Within this mile and half. 

Martius. Then shall we hear their larum, and they ours. 
Now, Mars, I prithee, make us quick in work, lo 

That we with smoking swords may march from hence 
To help our fielded friends. Come, blow thy blast. 

They sound a parley : enter two Senators with others on the 
walls of Corioles 

Tullus Aufidius, is he within your walls t 

I Senator. No, nor a man that fears you less than he. 
That 's lesser than a little. \Drum afar o^.'\ Hark 1 our drums 
Are bringing forth our youth : we '11 break our walls i6 

Rather than they shall pound us up : our gates. 
Which yet seem shut, we have but pinn'd with rushes ; 
They'll open of themselves. [Alarum far off.'] Hark you,f ar off 1 
There is Aufidius. List, what work he makes 20 

Amongst your cloven army. 

Martius. O, they are at it ! 

Lartius. Their noise be our instruction. Ladders, ho I 

19. [Alamm , . .] In Ff after ' far off.' 

9. larum. An aphetic form of ' alarum,' call to arms. 

12. fielded: in the field. Cf. 'agued,' line 38 ; 'servanted,'V,ii, 77. 

14-15. " The Coriolans, making small account of them that lay in 
camp before the city, made a sally out upon them." — Plutarch. 

17. pound us up : pen us up as in a pound. Cf. Tke Two Gentle- 
men of Verona, I, i, no. 

21. cloven army. " The Consul Cominius . . . divided his army also 
into two parts ; and taking the one part with himself, he marched 
towards them that were drawing to the city, out of the country : and 
the other part of his army he left in the camp with Titus Lartius (one 
of the valiantest men the Romans had at that time) to resist those 
that would make any sally out of the city upon them." — Plutarch. 



SCENE IV CORIOLANUS 29 

Enter the army of the Volsces 

Martius. They fear us not, but issue forth their city. 
Now put your shields before your hearts, and fight 
With hearts more proof than shields. Advance, brave Titus, 
They do disdain us much beyond our thoughts, 26 

Which makes me sweat with wrath. Come on, my fellows ! 
He that retires, I '11 take him for a Volsce, 
And he shall feel mine edge. S^Exit Martius] 

Alarum. The Romans are heat back to their trenches. 
Re-enter Martius, cursing 

Martius. All the contagion of the south light on you, 30 
You shames of Rome ! you herd of boils and plagues 
Plaster you o'er, that you may be abhorr'd 
Farther than seen, and one infect another 
Against the wind a mile ! You souls of geese. 
That bear the shapes of men, how have you run 35 

From slaves that apes would beat ! Pluto and hell ! 

30. Scene VIII Pope. F1F2 I Herd of Biles F3F4 I herd of — 

31. herd of boils | Heard of Byles Boils Johnson Camb Globe. 

30. Shakespeare always refers to the south wind as hurtful. 

31-32. you herd . . . Plaster you o'er. The impulsive thought of 
the speaker expresses itself in condensed diction, in which 'boils 
and plagues ' stands both in the vocative with ' you herd ' and as the 
subject of the verb 'plaster.' Johnson's punctuation (see textual 
variants) destroys the spirit of the passage. Schmidt puts a comma 
after ' plagues ' and calls ' plaster ' a reflexive. 

36-42. " But Martius . . . slew the first enemies he met withal, . . . 
crying out to the Romans that had turned their backs, and calling 
them again to fight with a loud voice. For he was even such another, 
as Cato would have a soldier and a captain to be, not only terrible 
and fierce to lay about him, but to make the enemy afeard with the 
sound of his voice, and grimness of his countenance." — Plutarch. 



30 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

All hurt behind, backs red, and faces pale 

With flight and agued fear ! Mend, and charge home, 

Or, by the fires of heaven, I '11 leave the foe, 

And make my wars on you : look to 't. Come on, 40 

If you '11 stand fast, we '11 beat them to their wives, 

As they us to our trenches followed. 

Another' alarum. The Volscesy^, and M.Awn\]^ follows 
them to the gates 

So, now the gates are ope : now prove good seconds : 
'Tis for the followers fortune widens them, 
Not for the fliers : mark me, and do the like. 45 

[^Enters the gates'] 

1 Soldier. Fool-hardiness, not I. 

2 Soldier. Nor I. 

[Martius is shut in\ 
I Soldier. See, they have shut him in. 

[Alarum continues] 
All. To th' pot, I warrant him. 

42. followed F2F3F4|followes Fi. other Alarum, and Martius followes 

43. Another . . . gates Camb | An- them to gates, and is shut in F1F2. 

38. agued fear : fear which has the effect of ague. Cf. Richard II, 
III, ii, 190: " This ague fit of fear is over-blown." 

43. seconds : support. Cf. I, viii, 1 5. 

43-45. "And there perceiving that the Romans retired back, . . . 
and that there was not one man amongst them that durst venture 
himself to follow the flying enemies into their city, ... he did en- 
courage his fellows with words and deeds, crying out to them, that 
fortune had opened the gates of the city, more for the followers 
than the fliers." — Plutarch. 

47. To th' pot : to certain ruin. Cut in pieces like meat for the pot. 
Murray quotes from Udall (1542), Erasm. Apoph. 116 : " The riche & 
welthie of his subjectes went dayly to the potte, & wer chopped up." 



scEm IV CORIOLANUS 3 1 

Re-enter Titus Lartius 

Lartius. What is become of Martius ? 

All. Slain, sir, doubtless. 

I Soldier. Following the fliers at the very heels, 
With them he enters : who, upon the sudden, 50 

Clapp'd to their gates : he is himself alone, 
To answer all the city. 

Lartius. O noble fellow ! 

Who sensibly outdares his senseless sword. 
And when it bows, stands up. Thou art left, Martius : 
A carbuncle entire, as big as thou art, 55 

Were not so rich a jewel. Thou wast a soldier 
Even to Cato's wish, not fierce and terrible 
Only in strokes ; but, with thy grim looks and 
The thunder-like percussion of thy sounds. 
Thou mad'st thine enemies shake, as if the world 60 

Were feverous, and did tremble. 

Re-enter Martius, bleedings assaulted by the enemy 

I Soldier. Look, sir. 

Lartius. O, 'tis Martius 1 

Let 's fetch him off, or make remain alike. 

\They fight^ and all enter the city'\ 

53. sensibly outdares Ff | sensi- 54. stands Rowe j stand 'st Ff, 

ble, outdoes Theobald | sensible, out- 57. Cato's Theobald | CaluesYi \ 

dares Johnson. Calves F2F3F4. 

53. sensibly . . . senseless. A touch of euphuism. Steevens quotes 
Sidney's Arcadia: "Their flesh abode the wounds constantly, as 
though it were lesse sensible of smart than the senselesse armour." 

57. Cato's wish. See note, lines 36-42. Cato lived more than two 
centuries later than the period of this play. 

62. remain. For 'remain' as a noun cf. Macbeth, IV, iii, 148. 



32 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

Scene V. Corioles. A street 

Enter certain Romans, with spoils 

1 Roman. This will I carry to Rome. 

2 Roman. And I this. 

3 Roman. A murrain on 't ! I took this for silver. 

\Exeunt. Alarum continues still afar off^ 

Enter Martius and Titus Lartius with a Trumpet 

Martius. See here these movers that do prize their hours 
At a crack'd drachma ! Cushions, leaden spoons, 5 

Irons of a doit, doublets that hangmen would 
Bury with those that wore them, these base slaves, 
Ere yet the fight be done, pack up : down with them ! 
And hark, what noise the general makes ! To him ! 
There is the man of my soul's hate, Aufidius, lo 

Piercing our Romans : then, valiant Titus, take 

Scene V Capell. — Corioles. A F2 I Drachm F3F4 I dram Staunton. 
street \ Ff omit. 7. them, these F4 I them, These 

5. drachma Singer | Drachme Fi F3 I them. These F1F2. 

4. with a Trumpet : accompanied by a trumpeter. — movers : mis- 
erable creatures (straggling about after plunder). For 'mover' in 
a good isense cf. Venus and Adonis, 368 : "O fairest mover on this 
mortal round." — prize their hours : value their time. 

5. crack'd drachma. The drachma is a silver Greek coin worth 
about a franc. A cracked drachma was not current. Cf. Hamlet, 
n, ii, 447-448. 

6. Irons of a doit : pieces of iron not worth a farthing. Cf. IV, iv, 17. 
8. '* The city being taken in this sort, the most part of the soldiers 

began incontinently to spoil, to carry away, and to look up the booty 
they had won. But Martius was marvellous angry with them, and 
cried out on them, that it was no time now to look after spoil, and 
to run straggling here and there to enrich themselves." — Plutarch. 



SCENE V CORIOLANUS 33 

Convenient numbers to make good the city ; 
Whilst I, with those that have the spirit, will haste 
To help Cominius. 

Lartius. Worthy sir, thou bleed'st ; 

Thy exercise hath been too violent 15 

For a second course of fight. 

Martius. Sir, praise me not : 

My work hath yet not warm'd me. Fare you well : 
The blood I drop is rather physical 
Than dangerous to me : to Aufidius thus 
I will appear and fight. 

Lartius. Now the fair goddess. Fortune, 20 

Fall deep in love with thee, and her great charms 
Misguide thy opposers' swords ! Bold gentleman. 
Prosperity be thy page ! 

Martius. Thy friend no less 

Than those she placeth highest ! So, farewell. 

Lartius. Thou worthiest Martius ! \Exit Martius] 25 
Go sound thy trumpet in the market-place ; 
Call thither all the officers o' th' town. 
Where they shall know our mind. Away ! \^Exeunt'\ 

25. {Exit Martius] Ff omit. 

12. make good : hold. Cf. Cymbeline, V, iii, 23. 

18. physical: medicinal, salutary. Ci. Julius Cczsar, II, i, 261. 

20-23. In Plutarch the prayer is put into the mouth of Martius : 
"Oft holding up his hands to heaven, he besought the gods to be 
gracious and favourable unto him, that he might come in time to 
the battle, and in a good hour to hazard his life in defence of his 
countrymen." 

23-24. Thy friend . . . highest : prosperity be thy friend no less than 
she is the friend of those she placeth highest. 

26-28. Addressed to the trumpeter. See note, line 4. 



34 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

Scene VI. Near the camp ^Cominius 

Enter Cominius as it were in retire^ with Soldiers 

CoMiNius. Breathe you, my friends : well fought ; we are 
come off 
Like Romans, neither foolish in our stands. 
Nor cowardly in retire : believe me, sirs. 
We shall be charg'd again. Whiles we have struck, 
By interims and conveying gusts we have heard 5 

The charges of our friends. Ye Roman gods. 
Lead their successes as we wish our own. 
That both our powers, with smiling fronts encount'ring. 
May give you thankful sacrifice ! Thy news ? 

Enter a Messenger 

Messenger. The citizens of Corioles have issued, 10 

And given to Lartius and to Martins battle : 
I saw our party to their trenches driven, 
And then I came away. 

Cominius. Though thou speakest truth, 

Methinks thou speak'st not well. How long is 't since ? 

Messenger. Above an hour, my lord. 15 

Cominius. 'T is not a mile : briefly we heard their drums. 

SceneVI Capelll Scene IX Pope. 6. Ye Hanmer | The Ff. 

— Near . . . Cominius | Ff omit. 13. speakest Ff | speak'st Rowe 

4. struck F4 I strooke F1F2 I Camb. — truth Ff I true Capell. 
strook F3. 16. briefly Ff | briefiy, Theobald. 

5. Now and then, as gusts of wind conveyed the noise. 

9. Thy news? Addressed to the messenger, whom he catches 
sight of before the audience does. 

16. briefly : " within a short time (measured either backward or 
forward)." — Murray. 



SCENE VI CORIOLANUS 35 

How couldst thou in a mile confound an hour, 
And bring thy news so late ? 

Messenger. Spies of the Volsces 

Held me in chase, that I was forc'd to wheel 
Three or four miles about, else had I, sir, 20 

Half an hour since brought my report. 

Enter Martius 

CoMiNius. Who 's yonder, 

That does appear as he were flay'd ? O gods ! 
He has the stamp of Martius, and I have 
Before-time seen him thus. 

Martius. Come I too late ? 

CoMiNius. The shepherd knows not thunder from a tabor 
More than I know the sound of Martius' tongue 26 

From every meaner man. 

Martius. Come I too late ? 

CoMiNius. Ay, if you come not in the blood of others, 
But mantled in your own. 

Martius. O, let me clip ye 

In arms as sound as when I woo'd in heart ; 30 

17. confound: waste. Cf. i Henry IV, I, iii, loo-ioi. 

22. as he were flay'd : as he would appear were he flayed. 'As ' in 
Shakespeare does not mean ' as if.' The ' if is implied in the subjunc- 
tive. See Abbott, § 107. Cf. I, i, 208; 2 Henry VI, I, i, 103. 

29. clip : clasp. Cf. IV, v, 109 ; Othello, III, iii, 464 : " You ele- 
ments that clip us round about." 

30. In arms as sound as I was in heart when I wooed. The semi- 
colon at the end of the line is the punctuation of the Folios. Al- 
most all modern editors place it after 'woo'd.' For 'sound' used of 
the heart and love cf. Love's Labour's Lost, V, ii, 415 : " My love to 
thee is sound, sans crack or flaw"; The Winter's Tale, IV, iv, 389: 
"This shows a sound affection." 



36 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

As merry as when our nuptial day was done, 
And tapers burn'd to bedward. 

CoMiNius. ■ Flower of warriors, 

How is 't with Titus Lartius ? 

Martius. As with a man busied about decrees : 
Condemning some to death, and some to exile ; 35 

Ransoming him, or pitying, threat'ning the other ; 
Holding Corioles in the name of Rome, 
Even like a fawning greyhound in the leash, 
To let him slip at will. 

CoMiNius. Where is that slave 

Which told me they had beat you to your trenches ? 40 

Where is he ? Call him hither. 

Martius. Let him alone ; 

He did inform the truth : but for our gentlemen. 
The common file (a plague ! tribunes for them !) 
The mouse ne'er shunn'd the cat as they did budge 
From rascals worse than they. 

CoMiNius. But how prevail'd you ? 45 

Martius. Will the time serve to tell ? I do not think : 
Where is the enemy ? Are you lords o' th' field .'' 
If not, why cease you till you are so ? 

CoMiNius. Martius, 

43. plague! tribunes Rowel plague- 46. tell? F3F4 I tell, F1F2. — 

Tribunes F1F2. think : Ff | think. Camb. 

36. Ransoming him, or pitying : accepting ransom of the one, or 
letting him go through pity. With 'him ' compare 'his,' Macbeth, IV, 

11I5 79~°° • I should cut off the nobles for their lands, 

Desire his jewels, and this other's house. 

42. but for : had it not been for. Cf. Romeo atid Juliet, III, iv, 6. 
The words may also mean 'but as for,' with 'gentlemen' used iron- 
ically for 'the common file,' the plebeians. 



SCENE VI CORIOLANUS 3/ 

We have at disadvantage fought, and did 

Retire to win our purpose. 50 

Martius. How lies their battle ? Know you on which side 
They have plac'd their men of trust ? 

CoMiNius. As I guess, Martius, 

Their bands i' th' vaward are the Antiates, 
Of their best trust : o'er them Aufidius, 
Their very heart of hope. 

Martius. I do beseech you, 55 

By all the battles wherein we have fought, 
By the blood we have shed together, by the vows 
We have made to endure friends, that you directly 
Set me against Aufidius, and his Antiates, 
And that you not delay the present, but, 60 

Filling the air with swords advanc'd and darts. 
We prove this very hour. 

CoMiNius. Though I could wish 

You were conducted to a gentle bath. 
And balms applied to you, yet dare I never 
Deny your asking : take your choice of those 65 

That best can aid your action. 

53. Antiates Pope i Antients F1F2 I Ancients F3F4. 

51. battle: battalion, army. Ci. 2 Henry IV, IV, i, 179. "Martius 
asked him how the order of their enemy's battle was, and on which 
side they had placed their best fighting men." — Plutarch. 

53. vaward: vanguard. The same word is in Plutarch. Cf. Henry V, 
IV, iii, 130. — Antiates. Pronounced ' an'ti-ates ' (classically, 'an-ti- 
a'tes'). Pope's correction of the Folios (see textual variants) is sup- 
ported by line 59 and the corresponding passage in Plutarch : "those 
of the Antiates whom they esteemed to be the warlikest men." 

58-59. directly Set me. " Then prayed Martius to be set directly 
against them." — Plutarch. 



38 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

Martius. Those are they 

That most are willing. If any such be here 
(As it were sin to doubt) that love this painting 
Wherein you see me smear'd ; if any fear 
Lesser his person than an ill report ; 70 

If any think brave death outweighs bad life, 
And that his country 's dearer than himself ; 
Let him alone, or so many so minded, 
Wave thus to express his disposition, 

And follow Martius. 75 

\They all shout and wave their swords^ take him up 
in their arms, and cast up their caps~\ 
O, me alone ! make you a sword of me : 
If these shows be not outward, which of you 
But is four Volsces ? None of you but is 
Able to bear against the great Aufidius 
A shield as hard as his. A certain number, 80 

Though thanks to all, must I select from all : the rest 
Shall bear the business in some other fight. 
As cause will be obey'd. Please you to march, 
And four shall quickly draw out my command, 
Which men are best inclin'd. 

70. Lesser F3F4 I Lessen F1F2. 81. the rest | Ff print in line 82. 

69-70. fear Lesser his person : fear less for his person. 

76. In the previous editions of Hudson's Shakespeare ' Go we along' 
was substituted for the ' Oh me alone ' of the Folios. Capell punctu- 
ated the line as a question. Martius, swordlike, has himself already 
pierced the enemy ; finding his men now eager for the fray, he bids 
them make him the sword that they are to use. 

83. As cause will be obey'd : as occasion shall require. 

84. four. ' I ' and * some ' have been suggested as emendations, 
but Coriolanus refers to subordinate officers. 



SCENE VIII CORIOLANUS 39 

CoMiNius. March on, my fellows : 85 

Make good this ostentation, and you shall 
Divide in all with us. [Exeunt^ 

Scene VII. The gates of Corioles 

Titus Lartius, having set a guard upon Corioles, goi?tg with 
drum and trumpet toward Cominius a7id Caius Martius, 
enters with a Lieutenant, other Soldiers, and a Scout 

Lartius. So, let the ports be guarded ; keep your duties 
As I have set them down. If I do send, dispatch 
Those centuries to our aid ; the rest will serve 
For a short holding : if we lose the field 
We cannot keep the town. 

Lieutenant. Fear not our care, sir. 5 

Lartius. Hence, and shut your gates upon 's : 
Our guider, come ; to the Roman camp conduct us. S^Exeufit^ 

Scene VIII. A field of battle 
Alarum as in battle. Enter ^ from opposite sides ^ Martius 

«;2^AUFIDIUS 

Martius. I '11 fight with none but thee, for I do hate thee 
Worse than a promise-breaker. 

ScENEVIICapell I Scene X Pope. Scene VIII Capell | Scene XI 

— The gates of Corioles \ Gates of Pope. — A . . . battle \ Ff omit. 
Coriole Capell | Ff omit. i. Enter . . . | Enter Martius and 

7. {ExeitJit^ Exit Ff. Auffidius at several doores Ff. 

86. ostentation : demonstration of courage. 
1. ports : gates. The original (Latin) meaning. Cf. V, vi, 6. 
3. centuries : companies of a hundred. The leader was usually 
called a centurion.' Cf. Matikezv, viii, 5. 



40 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

AuFiDius. We hate alike : 

Not Afric owns a serpent I abhor 
More than thy fame and envy : fix thy foot. 

Martius. Let the first budger die the other's slave, 5 
And the gods doom him after ! 

AuFiDius. If I fly, Martius, 

Holloa me like a hare. 

Martius. Within these three hours, Tullus, 

Alone I fought in your Corioles walls. 
And made what work I pleas 'd : 't is not my blood 
Wherein thou seest me mask'd, for thy revenge 10 

Wrench up thy power to th' highest. 

AuFiDius. Wert thou the Hector 

That was the whip of your bragg'd progeny. 
Thou shouldst not scape me here. 

\Here they fight ^ a?id certain Volsces come in the aid 
of AuFiDius. Martius fights till they be driven 
in breathless^ 
Officious, and not valiant, you have sham'd me 
In your condemned seconds. \Exeunt'\ 15 

4. and envy Ff | I envy CoDier. 7. Holloa | hollow Ff. 

6-7. If . . . hare I one line in Ff. 15. [^Exeunt] Ff omit. 

4. fame and envy. These words are really characteristic of both 
men. Each has fame and is jealous of the other ; and so each hates 
the other for two reasons, his fame and his jealousy. 

8. your Corioles walls. Cf. 'Corioles gates,' II, i, 154; 'our Rome 
gates,' III, iii, 104. See Abbott, § 22. 

12. progeny: lineage, race, family. The original (Latin) meaning. 
The Trojans were the boasted ancestors of the Romans, and Hector 
was bravest of them all. Cf. 2 Henry IV, H, iv, 236-237 : "thou art 
as valorous as Hector of Troy, worth five of Agamemnon." 

14-15. Officious in your interference, you have put me to shame 
by your damnable support. Aufidius addresses the Volsces. 



SCENE IX CORIOLANUS 4 1 

Scene IX. The Roman camp 

Flourish. Alarum. A retreat is sounded. jEnter, at 07ie door, 
CoMiNius with the Romans : at another door., Martius, 
with his arm in a scarf 

CoMiNius. If I should tell thee o'er this thy day's work, 
Thou 'It not believe thy deeds : but I '11 report it, 
Where senators shall mingle tears with smiles, • 
Where great patricians shall attend, and shrug, 
I' th' end admire : where ladies shall be frighted, - 5 

And, gladly quak'd, hear more : where the dull tribunes, 
That with the fusty plebeians hate thine honours. 
Shall say against their hearts, ' We thank the gods 
Our Rome hath such a soldier ! ' 

Yet cam'st thou to a morsel of this feast, 10 

Having fully din'd before. 

Enter Titus Lartius, with his power, from the pursuit 

Lartius. O general. 

Here is the steed, we the caparison : 
Hadst thou beheld — 

Martius. Pray now, no more : my mother. 

Who has a charter to extol her blood. 

Scene IX Capell. — The ... 2. Thou 'It F4 I Thou't F1F2F3. 

camp I Ff omit. i3-i4- my • • • Wood | one line in Ff , 

6. gladly quak'd : liking to be made to quake. 

7. plebeians. Pronounced ' ple'be-ans,' as in III, i, loi ; V, iv, 35 ; 
Antony and Cleopatra, IV, xii, 34 ; but ' ple-be'ans ' in Titus Andronicus, 
I, i, 231 ; Henry V, V, Prologue, 27. 

lo-ii. The fight with Aufidius is but a trifle compared with the 
taking of Corioles. 

14. charter: right, privilege. — blood: flesh and blood, offspring. 



43 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

When she does praise me grieves me : I have done 1 5 

As you have done ; that 's what I can : induc'd 
As you have been ; that 's for my country : 
He that has but effected his good will 
Hath overta'en mine act. 

CoMiNius. You shall not be 

The grave of your deserving ; Rome must know 20 

The value of her own : 't were a concealment 
Worse than a theft, no less than a traducement, 
To hide your doings ; and to silence that 
Which, to the spire and top of praises vouch'd, 
Would seem but modest : therefore, I beseech yoti 25 

(In sign of what you are, not to reward 
What you have done) before our army hear me. 

Martius. I have some wounds upon me, and they smart 
To hear themselves rememb'red. 

CoMiNius. Should they not, 

Well might they fester 'gainst ingratitude, 30 

And tent themselves with death. Of all the horses, 
Whereof we have ta'en good, and good store, of all 
The treasure in this field achiev'd and city, 

33. achiev'd | atchieved Ff, 

18-19. He that . . . mine act : he that has carried out his purpose 
(done his best) has done as much as I. 

21-25. It were no less than stealing and defamation to hide what 
you have done, and be silent about that which, if vouched for with 
the highest praises, would seem but modestly praised. 

29. To hear: at hearing. Cf. 'to be,' I, i, 254. 

29-31. Should they . . . with death. If they did not smart and re- 
mind him that they needed probing, they might well fester (because 
of the ingratitude shown them) and produce death. 

31. tent: probe. Cf.iTa;??/,?^, II,ii, 626: "I'lltenthimtothequick.^' 



SCENE IX CORIOLANUS 43 

We render you the tenth ; to be ta'en forth, 

Before the common distribution, at 35 

Your only choice. 

Martius. I thank you, general ; 

But cannot make my heart consent to take 
A bribe to pay my sword : I do refuse it. 
And stand upon my common part with those 
That have beheld the doing. 40 

[A lo7ig flourish. They all cry ' Martius ! Martius ! ' 
cast up their caps a7id lafices : Cominius and 
Lartius stand hare\ 

Martius. May these same instruments, which you profane, 
Never sound more ! when drums and trumpets shall 
I' th' field prove flatterers, let courts and cities be 
Made all of false-fac'd soothing ! 

44. all of F1F2 I of all F3F4. 

36-40. "But Martius, stepping forth, told the Consul he most 
thankfully accepted the gift of his horse, and was a glad man be- 
sides, that his service had deserved his General's commendation : 
and as for his other offer, which was rather a mercenary reward than 
a honourable recompense, he would have none of it, but was con- 
tented to have his equal part with the other soldiers." — Plutarch. 

42-46. These lines have led to various alterations of the text. 
The chief difficulty is 'overture,' for which most editors substitute 
'coverture.' But 'overture' here has probably its original sense of 
'formal opening.' Martius has been fighting in his country's cause 
(line 17), and deprecates bribery (line 38) and flattery, which only unfit 
the soldier for duty. When drums and trumpets on the field of battle 
shall prove flatterers, well may courts and cities be naught else. When 
steel loses its power (because the soldier's arm has become effem- 
inate), then let the parasite (who accepts gifts and wins his way by 
flattery) take the place of the warrior in beginning wars. 

44. false-fac'd soothing: hypocritical flattery. Cf. II, ii, 77. Cf. 
'soothest,' Ktng John^ III, i, 121. 



44 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

When steel grows soft as the parasite's silk, 45 

Let him be made an overture for th' wars ! 

No more, I say ! For that I have not wash'd 

My nose that bled, or foil'd some debile wretch, 

Which without note here 's many else have done, 

You shout me forth 50 

In acclamations hyperbolical. 

As if I lov'd my little should be dieted 

In praises sauc'd with lies. 

CoMiNius. Too modest are you ; 

More cruel to your good report than grateful 
To us that give you truly : by your patience, 55 

If 'gainst yourself you be incens'd, we '11 put you 
(Like one that means his proper harm) in manacles. 
Then reason safely with you. Therefore be it known, 
As to us, to all the world, that Caius Martius 
Wears this war's garland : in token of the which, 60 

My noble steed, known to the camp, I give him, 

46. an overture | an Overture Ff 50-51. One line in Ff. — shout 

I a coverture Steevens (Tyrwhitt) F4 I shoot F1F2F3. 

Camb Globe. 56. 'gainst Fi | against F2F3F4. 

45. parasite's silk. Silk was identified with effeminacy. Cf. Dek- 
ker and Chettle's Grissil : "Those changeable silk gallants, who 
read ... no books but a looking-glass." Under ' silk ' Murray quotes 
Purchas, Verses in Capt. Smith's Virginia: "Fetters are forged For 
Silke-sotts, Milk-sops." 

48. debile : weak, feeble. Cf. All 's Well that Ends Well, II, iii, 39. 

49. here 's many. For the form of the verb see Abbott, § 335. 
55. give : represent. Cf. Antony and Cleopatra, I, iv, 39-40 : " and 

men's reports Give him much wrong'd." 

57. proper: own. The original (Latin) meaning. Ci. Twelfth Night, 
V, i, 328 : " Here at my house, and at my proper cost." 

58. reason: talk, converse. So in IV, vi, 51. 



SCENE IX CORIOLANUS 45 

With all his trim belonging ; and from this time, 

For what he did before Corioles, call him, 

With all th' applause and clamour of the host, 

Caius Martius Coriolanus. Bear 65 

Th' addition nobly ever ! 

[Flourish. Trumpets sou?id, and drums^ 

All. Caius Martius Coriolanus ! 

Coriolanus. I will go wash : 
And when my face is fair, you shall perceive 
Whether I blush, or no : howbeit, I thank you : 70 

I mean to stride your steed, and at all times 
To undercrest your good addition 
To the fairness of my power. 

CoMiNius. So, to our tent, 

Where, ere we do repose us, we will write 
To Rome of our success. You, Titus Lartius, 75 

Must to Corioles back : send us to Rome 
The best, with whom we may articulate. 
For their own good and ours. 

Lartius. I shall, my lord. 

Coriolanus. The gods begin to mock me. I, that now 
Refus'd most princely gifts, am bound to beg 80 

Of my lord general. 

65-66. One line in Ff. I Martius Caius Coriolanus F3F4. 

65, 67. Caius Martius Coriolanus 67. All | Omnes Ff. 

Rowel Marcus Caius Coriolanus F1F2 68, 79, etc. Coriolanus | Mar. Ff, 

66. addition : title. The technical sense, ' something added to a 
coat of arms as a mark of honour,' is suggested here. So in line 72. 

72-73. To justify, as far as lies in my power, the honourable title 
bestowed on me. — undercrest. The metaphor is from heraldry. 

77. The best : the chief men of Corioles. — articulate : draw up 
articles of agreement, arrange terms of capitulation. 



46 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

CoMiNius. Take 't ; 't is yours : what is 't ? 

CoRiOLANUS. I sometime lay here in Corioles 
At a poor man's house ; he us'd me kindly : 
He cried to me ; I saw him prisoner ; 

But then Aufidius was within my view, 85 

And wrath o'erwhelm'd my pity : I request you 
To give my poor host freedom. 

CoMiNius. O, well begg'd ! 

Were he the butcher of my son, he should 
Be free as is the wind : deliver him, Titus. 

Lartius. Martins, his name ? 

CoRiOLANus. By Jupiter, forgot : 90 

I am weary ; yea, my memory is tir'd : 
Have we no wine here ? 

CoMiNius. Go we to our tent : 

The blood upon your visage dries ; 't is time 
It should be look'd to : come. [jExeun/] 

82-87. "Among the Volsces there is an old friend and host of mine, 
an honest wealthy man, and now a prisoner; who, living before in great 
wealth in his own country, liveth now a poor prisoner, in the hands 
of his enemies : and yet notwithstanding all this his m.isery and mis- 
fortune, it would do me great pleasure if I could save him from this 
one danger, to keep him from being sold as a slave." — Plutarch. 
89. free as is the wind. Cf. As You Like It, II, vii, 47-49 : 

I must have liberty 
W^ithal, as large a charter as the wind 
To blow on whom I please ; 
and TTie Tempest, I, ii, 498-499 : 

Thou shalt be free 
As mountain winds. 
91. "Then they prayed Martius that he would retire to the camp, 
because they saw he was able to do no more, he was already so 
wearied with the great pain he had taken, and so faint with the 
great wounds he had upon him." — Plutarch. 



SCENE X CORIOLANUS 4/ 

Scene X. The camp of the Volsces 

A flourish. Cornets. Enter Tullus Aufidius bloody., 
with two or three Soldiers 

Aufidius. The town is ta'en ! 

I Soldier. 'T will be deliver'd back on good condition. 

Aufidius. Condition ? 
I would I were a Roman, for I cannot, 
Being a Volsce, be that I am. Condition ? 5 

What good condition can a treaty find 
I' th' part that is at mercy ? Five times, Martins, 
I have fought with thee ; so often hast thou beat me ; 
And wouldst do so, I think, should we encounter 
As often as we eat. By th' elements, 10 

If e'er again I meet him beard to beard. 
He 's mine, or I am his : mine emulation 
Hath not that honour in 't it had ; for where 
I thought to crush him in an equal force, 
True sword to sword, I '11 potch at him some way, i s 

Or wrath, or craft may get him. 

I Soldier. He 's the devil. 

Scene X Capell. — The . . . (Soul. Sol.) Ff. 
Volsces I Ff omit. 3,5. Condition ?FfI condition! Camb. 

2, 16, etc. I Soldier | Sould. 10. As F1F4 I And F2F3. 

2. good condition : favorable terms. In lines 3 and 5 Aufidius re- 
peats the word in the sense intended by the soldier ; then in line 6, 
with grim irony, he plays on its second meaning, ' quality,' ' character.' 

5. be that I am : be myself, be natural. His defeat calls forth the 
baser side of his nature (cf. hues 12-16). 

7. r th' part: on the side. Cf. I, i, 229; III, i, 143; V, iii, 121. 

15. potch at : make a thrust at (as in fencing). The verb is usually 
transitive and spelled ' poach.' 



48 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act i 

AuFiDius. Bolder, though not so subtle. My valour's 
poison'd 
With only suffering stain by him ; for him 
Shall fly out of itself : nor sleep nor sanctuary, 
Being naked, sick ; nor fane nor Capitol, 20 

The prayers of priests nor times of sacrifice, 
Embarquements all of fury, shall lift up 
Their rotten privilege and custom 'gainst 
My hate to Martins. Where I find him, were it 
At home, upon my brother's guard, even there, 25 

Against the hospitable canon, would I 
Wash my fierce hand in 's heart. Go you to th' city ; 
Learn how 't is held, and what they are that must 
Be hostages for Rome. 

20. fane | Phane Ff. 

17-27. In LecUires and Notes on Shakspere Coleridge has the fol- 
lowing comment on this speech : " I have such deep faith in Shak- 
spere's heart-lore, that I take for granted that this is in nature, and 
not as a mere anomaly; though I cannot in myself discover any 
germ of possible feeling, which could wax and unfold itself into 
such sentiment as this. However, I perceive that in this speech is 
meant to be contained a prevention of shock at the after-change in 
Aufidius' character." 

18. With only ... by him : merely by being outdone by him. — 
for him : because of him. 

20. Being naked, sick : if he (Coriolanus) were naked or sick. The 
speaker's emotion breaks down the formal rules of grammar. 

22. Embarquements : restraints, impediments. A variant of the ob- 
solete word ' embargement,' which means literally ' a placing under 
embargo.' Coleridge favored Hanmer's reading, ' embankments.' 

25. In my own house, under my brother's protection. 

26. hospitable canon : laws of hospitality. By Greek and Roman 
custom the person of a guest was sacred. Even a stranger could 
claim protection at the hearth. 

28. how 't is held : how strongly it is garrisoned. 



SCENE X CORIOLANUS 49 

I Soldier. Will not you go ? 

AuFiDius. I am attended at the cypress grove. I pray you 
('T is south the city mills) bring me word thither 31 

How the world goes, that to the pace of it 
I may spur on my journey. 

I Soldier. I shall, sir. [jExeunt] 

30. cypress Rowe I Cyprus Ff. 33. [Bxeuni] Ff omit. 

31. mills I Mils F1F2 I Mill F3F4. 

30. attended : waited for. Cf. I, i, 72, 240. 

31. south the city mills. In 1588 the Corporation of London built 
four corn mills on the south side of the Thames, not far from where 
the Globe Theatre was erected in 1 599, and it has been suggested that 
Shakespeare had these in mind. Verity compares Julhis Ccesar, I, 
iii, 75, "As doth the lion in the Capitol," as if Shakespeare were 
thinking of the lions kept in the Tower of London. Malone says, 
" Shakespeare frequently introduces those minute local descriptions, 
probably to give an air of truth to his pieces," and then quotes Romeo 
and yuliet, I, i, 127-130: 

A troubled mind drave me to walk abroad, 
Where underneath the grove of sycamore, 
That westward rooteth from the city's side, 
So early walking did I see your son. 



ACT II 

Scene I. Rome. A public place 

Enter Menenius with the two Tribunes of the people^ 
SiciNius afid Brutus 

Menenius. The augurer tells me we shall have news to- 
night. 

Brutus. Good or bad ? 

Menenius. Not according to the prayer of the people, for 
they love not Martins. 5 

SiciNius. Nature teaches beasts to know their friends. 

Menenius. Pray you, who does the wolf love t 

SiciNius. The lamb. 

Menenius. Ay, tp devour him, as the hungry plebeians 
would the noble Martius. lo 

Brutus. He 's a lamb indeed, that baes like a bear. 

Menenius. He 's a bear indeed, that lives like a lamb. 
You two are old men : tell me one thing that I shall ask 
you. 

Both. Well, sir. 15 

Menenius. In what enormity is Martius poor in, that 
you two have not in abundance ? 

Brutus. He 's poor in no one fault, but stor'd with all. 

SiciNius. Especially in pride. 

ACT II. Scene I Rowe | Actus i. augurer | augur Pope, 

Secundus Ff. — Rome . . . //ace Ff 18. with all F3F4 I withall F1F2. 

omit. 19. in pride F1F2F3 I Pride F4. 

50 



SCENE I CORIOLANUS 51 

Brutus. And topping all others in boasting. 20 

Menenius. This is strange now : do you two know how 
you are censured here in the city, I mean of us o' th' right- 
hand file ? do you ? 

Both. Why, how are we censur'd ? 

Menenius. Because you talk of pride now, will you not 
be angry ? 26 

Both. Well, well, sir, well. 

Menenius. Why, 'tis no great matter; for a very little 
thief of occasion will rob you of a great deal of patience : 
give your dispositions the reins, and be angry at your pleas- 
ures ; at the least, if you take it as a pleasure to you in being 
so. You blame Martins for being proud. 32 

Brutus. We do it not alone, sir. 

Menenius. I know you can do very little alone, for your 
helps are many, or else your actions would grow wondrous 
single : your abilities are too infant-like for doing much alone. 
You talk of pride : O that you could turn your eyes toward 
the napes of your necks, and make but an interior survey 
of your good selves ! O that you could ! 

Both. What then, sir ? 40 

20. boasting Fi | boast F2F3F4. 32. proud. Ff | proud ? Capell. 

24. Both F1F2 I Bru. F3F4. 40. Both F1F2F3 I Men. F4 | 

25. now, will Ff Inow, — will Capell, Bru. Rowe Globe. 

22. censured : estimated, regarded. The original (Latin) meaning. 
Cf. King John, II, i, 328. Cf. ' giddy censure,' I, i, 263. 

22-23. th' right-hand file : the patricians. Cf. ' The common file,' 
I. vi, 43. 

36. single : simple, weak. With a play on ' alone.' Cf . 2 Henry IV, 
I, ii, 206-207 : " your chin double .'' your wit single ? " 

37-39. " With allusion to the fable, which says that every man has 
a bag hanging before him in which he puts his neighbours' faults, 
and another behind him in which he stows his own." — Johnson. 



52 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Menenius. Why, then you should discover a brace of 
unmeriting, proud, violent, testy magistrates, alias fools, 
as any in Rome. 

SiciNius. Menenius, you are known well enough too. 44 
Menenius. I am known to be a humorous patrician, and 
one that loves a cup of hot wine with not a drop of allaying 
Tiber in 't : said to be something imperfect in favouring the 
first complaint, hasty and tinder-like upon too trivial motion ; 
one that converses more with the buttock of the night than 
with the forehead of the morning. What I think, I utter, and 
spend my malice in my breath. Meeting two such wealsmen 
as you are (I cannot call you Lycurguses), if the drink you 
give me touch my palate adversely, I make a crooked face 
at it. I can say your worships have deliver'd the matter well, 
when I find the ass in compound with the major part of 
your syllables : and though I must be content to bear with 
those that say you are reverend grave men, yet they lie deadly 
that tell you have good faces. If you see this in the map of 

48. upon too Rowe | vppon, to Fi 54. can Ff | can't Theobald. 

I upon, to F2F3F4. 58, tell you Ff I tell you, you Pope 

52. call you F1F2 I call your F3F4. I tell you you Camb Globe. 

42-43. unmeriting ... as : as unmeriting ... as. In constructions 
with 'so . . . as,' 'as . . . as,' and the like, the first word or the second 
is sometimes omitted. See Abbott, § 281. 

45. humorous: capricious (following his humours or whims). 

46-47. allaying Tiber. Lovelace imitates this in To Althea from 
Frison : When flowing cups run swiftly round 

With no allaying Thames. 

51. wealsmen : statesmen. Used here ironically. 

54. can. Theobald's change to ' can't ' destroys the irony. 

55. the ass in compound with : an ingredient of the fool, with 
perhaps a punning reference to some Latin grammar rule. 

58-59. the map of my microcosm : my face. 



SCENE I CORIOLANUS 53 

my microcosm, follows it that I am known well enough too ? 
what harm can your bisson conspectuities glean out of this 
character, if I be known well enough too ? 61 

Brutus. Come, sir, come, we know you well enough. 

Menenius. You know neither me, yourselves, nor any 
thing. You are ambitious for poor knaves' caps and legs : 
you wear out a good wholesome forenoon in hearing a cause 
between an orange-wife and a forset-seller, and then rejourn 
the controversy of three-pence to a second day of audience. 
When you are hearing a matter between party and party, if 
you chance to be pinch 'd with the colic, you make faces like 
mummers, set up the bloody flag against all patience, and dis- 
miss the controversy bleeding, the more entangled by your 
hearing : all the peace you make in their cause is calling both 
the parties knaves. You are a pair of strange ones. 73 

Brutus. Come, come, you are well understood to be a 
perfecter giber for the table than a necessary bencher in the 
Capitol. 

Menenius. Our very priests must become mockers, if 
they shall encounter such ridiculous subjects as you are, 

60. bisson Theobald | beesome F1F2 I beesom Fs I besom F4. 

60. bisson conspectuities. A humorous substitute for 'blind eyes.' 
In Hamlet, II, ii, 529, 'bisson' means 'blinding.' The word 'con- 
spectuities ' is coined by Menenius humorously. Cf. his ' empiricutic,' 
line 109, and 'fidius'd,' line 123. 

64. caps and legs : doffing of hats and obeisance. Cf. ' cap,' line 97; 
'cap and knee,' i Henry IV, IV, iii, 68. 

66. forset-seller : faucet-seller, seller of wine-taps. Rowe spelled 
it ' fosset-seller.' 

70. set up the bloody flag : declare war. Cf. Henry V, I, ii, loi. 

78-79. you are ... It is. The punctuation is that of the first 
three Folios. In the Fourth Folio the arrangement is, "you are; 
when you speak best unto the purpose, It is," etc. 



54 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

when you speak best unto the purpose. It is not worth the 
wagging of your beards, and your beards deserve not so 
honourable a grave as to stuff a botcher's cushion, or to 
be entomb'd in an ass's pack-saddle : yet you must be say- 
ing 'Martius is proud'; who, in a cheap estimation, is worth 
all your predecessors since Deucalion, though peradventure 
some of the best of 'em were hereditary hangmen. God-den 
to your worships : more of your conversation would infect 
my brain, being the herdsmen of the beastly plebeians : I 
will be bold to take my leave of you. 

[Brutus and Sicinius go aside] 88 

Enter Volumnia, Virgilia, ajid Valeria 

How now, my as fair as noble ladies (and the moon, were 
she earthly, no nobler) whither do you follow your eyes so 
fast? 

Volumnia. Honourable Menenius, my boy Martins ap- 
proaches : for the love of Juno, let 's go. 

Menenius. Ha .? Martins coming home ? 

Volumnia. Ay, worthy Menenius, and with most pros- 
perous approbation. 96 

88. [Brutus . . . ] Bni. and Scic. F2F3F4. 
Aside Fi | Brutus and Sicinius. Aside 89. Scene 1 1 Pope. 

80-81. beards . . . stuff a botcher's cushion. Cf. Much Ado About 
Nothings III, ii, 46-47 : "and the old ornament of his cheek hath 
already stuffed tennis balls." — botcher: old-clothes mender. 

84. Deucalion. The Greek Noah. Cf. "far than Deucalion off," 
The Winter's Tale, IV, iv, 442. The story of DeucaHon would be 
known to Shakespeare probably through Golding's Ovid. 

85. God-den: good even ('God give you good even'). 

94. Ha ? The interrogation indicates the inflection of the exclama- 
tion. Most editors change the punctuation to an exclamation point. 



SCENE I CORIOLANUS .55 

Menenius. Take my cap, Jupiter, and I thank thee : hoo ! 

Martius commg home ? 

ViRGILIA. 1 ^^ , . 

Nay, tis true. 



Valeria. 

VoLUMNiA. Look, here 's a letter from him : the state hath 
another, his wife another ; and, I think, there 's one at home 
for you. 102 

Menenius. I will make my very house reel to-night. A 
letter for me ? 

ViRGiLiA. Yes, certain ; there 's a letter for you ; I saw 't. 

Menenius. A letter for me ! it gives me an estate of 
seven years' health ; in which time I will make a lip at the 
physician : the most sovereign prescription in Galen is but 
empiricutic, and, to this preservative, of no better report 
than a horse-drench. Is he not wounded ? he was wont to 
come home wounded. m 

ViRGiLiA. O, no, no, no. 

VoLUMNiA. O, he is wounded ; I thank the gods for 't. 

Menenius, So do I too, if it be not too much : brings a 
victory in his pocket ? the wounds become him. 1 1 5 

VoLUMNiA. On 's brows : Menenius, he comes the third 
time home with the oaken garland. 

Menenius. Has he disciplin'd Aufidius soundly ? 

99. ViRGiLiA. Valeria | 2. La- qutique F1F2 I Empericktique F3F4. 
dies Ff. III. wounded. | wounded? Ff. 

109. empiricutic Camb I Emperick- 114. a Ff la' Theobald! he a Pope. 

97. Take my cap, Jupiter. Cf. ' caps and legs,' line 64. 

108. Galen. A celebrated Greek physician. He was not born until 
131 A.D. Another anachronism. Cf. the reference to Cato, I, iv, 57. 

109. empiricutic: quackish. Coined from 'empiric' 
114. a: he. A dialectic form. Often printed 'a or a'. 
117. the oaken garland. See note, I, iii, 12. 



56 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

VoLUMNiA. Titus Lartius writes, they fought together, 
but Aufidius got off. 120 

Menenius. And 't was time for him too, I '11 warrant him 
that : and he had stay'd by him, I would not have been so 
fidius'd for all the chests in Corioles, and the gold that 's in 
them. Is the senate possess'd of this? 124 

VoLUMNiA. Good ladies, let 's go. Yes, yes, yes : the 
senate has letters from the general, wherein he gives my son 
the whole name of the war : he hath in this action outdone 
his former deeds doubly. 

Valeria. In troth, there 's wondrous things spoke of 
him. 130 

Menenius. Wondrous 1 ay, I warrant you, and not with- 
out his true purchasing. 

ViRGiLiA. The gods grant them true ! 

VoLUMNiA. True ? pow waw. 134 

Menenius. True ? I '11 be sworn they are true. Where is 
he wounded ? [To the Tribunes] God save your good wor- 
ships ! Martins is coming home : he has more cause to be 
proud. Where is he wounded 1 

122. and Ff | an' Capell | if Pope, pell Camb Globe. 

123. fidius'd I fiddious'd Ff. 136. [T^ //^^ Tribunes] Theobald | 
134. pow waw Ff I pow, wow Ca- Ff omit. 

123. fidius'd. Coined from 'Aufidius.' Cf. Henry V, IV, iv, 29 : 
" Master Fer ! I '11 fer him " ; The Merry Wives of Windsor, IV, ii, 
191, 193 : " Mother Prat, ... I '11 prat her." 

124. possess'd: fully informed (put in possession of the facts). 
126. letters : a letter. After the Latin plural, litterae. Frequently 

so, and common to-day in legal phraseology. Cf. AlPs Well that 
Ends Well, IV, iii, 91-92. 

129. there's. For the form of the verb see Abbott, § 335. 

132. true purchasing : honest winning. Cf. The Merchant of Venice, 
II, ix, 43 : " purchas'd by the merit of the wearer." 



SCENE I CORIOLANUS 57 

VoLUMNiA. I' th' shoulder and i' th' left arm : there will 
be large cicatrices to show the people, when he shall stand 
for his place. He received in the repulse of Tarquin seven 
hurts i' th' body. 142 

Menenius. One i' th' neck, and two i' th' thigh ; there 's 
nine that I know. 

VoLUMNiA. He had, before this last expedition, twenty- 
five wounds upon him. 146 

Menenius. Now it 's twenty-seven : every gash was an 
enemy's grave. \A shout atid flourish ?\^ Hark, the trumpets ! 

VoLUMNiA. These are the ushers of Martius : before him 
he carries noise, and behind him, he leaves tears : 
Death, that dark spirit, in 's nervy arm doth lie, 151 

Which being advanc'd, declines, and then men die. 

A sennet. Trumpets sound. Enter Cominius the general., and 
Titus Lartius : between them Coriolanus, crown' d with 
an oaken garland., with Captains atid Soldiers, and a 
Herald 

Herald. Know, Rome, that all alone Martius did fight 
Within Corioles gates : where he hath won. 
With fame, a name to Caius Martius : these 155 

148. \A shout and flourish^ Ff 153. Scene III Pope, 

after ' trumpets.' 155. Caius Martius | Martius Caius 

149-150. Irregular verse in Ff. Ff. — these | Ff print in next line. 

141. his place. The reference is to the consulship. 
151-152. This ranting couplet is probably an actor's interpolation. 
— nervy: sinewy, strong. See note, I, i, 133. 

153. sennet. A word 'often found in old stage directions. Its origin 
is uncertain (but cf. 'signature' in musical notation). It indicates a 
set of notes on a trumpet or cornet to signal the march of a procession. 

154. Corioles gates. Cf. 'Corioles walls,' I, viii, 8. 



58 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act n 

In honour follows Coriolanus. 

Welcome to Rome, renowned Coriolanus ! \Floiiri5h'\ 

All. Welcome to Rome, renowned Coriolanus ! 

Coriolanus. No more of this, it does offend my heart : 
Pray now, no more. 

CoMiNius. Look, sir, your mother ! 

Coriolanus. O, i6o 

You have, I know, petition'd all the gods 
For my prosperity. \K7ieds\ 

VoLUMNiA. Nay, my good soldier, up : 

My gentle Martins, worthy Caius, and 
By deed-achieving honour newly nam'd, 
(What is it ?) Coriolanus must I call thee ? 165 

But, O, thy wife ! 

Coriolanus. My gracious silence, hail ! 
Wouldst thou have laugh'd, had I come coffin'd home, 
That weep'st to see me triumph ? Ah, my dear, 

156. Coriolanus | Martius Caius 159-162. No more . . . my pros- 
Coriolanus Ff. perity i prose in Ff. 

157. \_Flourisli\%o\n\di. FlourishFf. 163. and 1 Ff print in next line. 

164. deed-achieving honour : honour from deeds achieved. In Shake- 
speare active participles are often used in a passive sense. With 
'deed-achieving' compare 'all-obeying' ('obeyed by all'), Antony 
and Cleopatra, III, xiii, 77. 

166. My gracious silence. " This name for his wife, who, while the 
others are receiving him with loud rejoicings, meets and welcomes 
him with speechless happiness looking out from her swimming eyes, 
is conceived in the very fulness of poetical and Shakespearian per- 
fection. It comprises the gracefulness of beauty which distinguishes 
her, and the gracious effect which her muteness of love-joy has upon 
him who shrinks from noisy applause and even from merely expressed 
approbation ; and it wonderfully concentrates into one felicitous word 
the silent softness that characterizes Virgilia." — Cowden Clarke. 



SCENE I CORIOLANUS 59 

Such eyes the widows in C orioles wear, 
And mothers that lack sons. 

Menenius. Now the gods crown thee ! 170 

CoRiOLANUS. And live you yet ? [To Valeria] O my sweet 
lady, pardon. 

VoLUMNiA. I know not where to turn. O, welcome home : 
And welcome, general ! and ye 're welcome all. 

Menenius. A hundred thousand welcomes. I could weep, 
And I could laugh ; I am light, and heavy. Welcome ! 175 
A curse begin at very root on 's heart. 
That is not glad to see thee ! You are three 
That Rome should dote on : yet, by the faith of men. 
We have some old crab-trees here at home that will not 
Be grafted to your relish. Yet welcome, warriors ! 180 

We call a nettle but a nettle, and 
The faults of fools but folly. 

CoMiNius. Ever right. 

CoRiOLANUS. Menenius, ever, ever. 

Herald. Give way there, and go on. 

CORIOLANUS. [To VoLUMNiA an^ Virgilia] Your hand, 
and yours : 185 

169. wear F3F4|weare F2|were Fi. 177. You F2F3F4 I Yon Fi. 

171. CoRiOLANUslCom.Ff.— [7(7 180. relish F4 I Rallish Fi | Rel- 

Valeria] Theobald | Ff omit. lish F2F8. 

172-182. Fifteen lines in Ff. 185. [To . . . Virgilia] Camb | 

173- ye 're | y' are Ff . Ff omit. — yours : | yours ? Ff . 

176-177. on 's heart, That is not glad : on his heart, that is not glad 
(on the heart of him, that is not glad). ' His,' retaining its force as the 
genitive of 'he,' is the antecedent of the relative 'That.' Cf. All's 
Well that Ends Well, III, iv, 27 : ''her prayers, whom heaven delights 
to hear." See Abbott, § 218. 

179. crab-trees. The tribunes are meant. 

180. grafted to your relish. The fruit will not be to your taste. 



6o THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Ere in our own house I do shade my head, 
The good patricians must be visited, 
From whom I have receiv'd not only greetings. 
But with them, change of honours. 

VoLUMNiA. I have lived 

To see inherited my very wishes, 190 

And the buildings of my fancy : only 
There 's one thing wanting, which I doubt not but 
Our Rome will cast upon thee. 

CoRiOLANus. Know, good mother, 

I had rather be their servant in my way 
Than sway with them in theirs. 

CoMiNius. On, to the Capitol ! 195 

[Flourish. Cornets. Exeunt in state^as before. Brutus 

a7id SiciNius come forward] 

Brutus. All tongues speak of him, and the bleared sights 
Are spectacled to see him : your prattling nurse 
Into a rapture lets her baby cry. 
While she chats him : the kitchen malkin pins 

189. change Ff | charge Theobald. Fa. — [ • • • Brutus . . . forward'] 

191-193. And the . . . upon thee | Theobald | Enter Brutus and Sicinius 

four lines in Ff. (Scicinius Fi) Ff. 

195. Than F3F4 I Then Fi | Ten 196. Scene IV Pope. 

189. change of honours : different honours, fresh honours. 

190. To see myself in possession of all I have wished for. Cf. The 
Tempest, H, ii, 1 79-181 : "the king and all our company else being 
drown'd, we will inherit here." 

198. rapture: paroxysm, fit. The etymological meaning is ' seizure.' 
In the earlier editions of Hudson's Shakespeare ' rupture ' was in- 
troduced as an emendation. 

199. chats him: chats about him. Cf. 'speak him,' II, ii, 100; 
Cymbeline,l,'\,z\. See Abbott, § 200. — malkin: slattern. Sometimes 
written and pronounced ' mawkin.' A diminutive of ^Matilda.' 



SCENE I CORIOLANUS 6l 

Her richest lockram 'bout her reechy neck, 200 

Clamb'ring the walls to eye him : stalls, bulks, windows. 

Are smother'd up, leads fill'd, and ridges hors'd 

With variable complexions, all agreeing 

In earnestness to see him : seld-shown flamens 

Do press among the popular throngs, and puff 205 

To win a vulgar station : our veil'd dames 

Commit the war of white and damask in 

Their nicely gawded cheeks to th' wanton spoil 

Of Phoebus' burning kisses : such a pother, 

As if that whatsoever god who leads him 210 

20I-2C32. Three lines in Ff. 209, pother Rowe | poother Ff. 

200. lockram : a kind of coarse linen. So called from Locronan 
(' cell of St. Ronan '), a village in Brittany, where the fabric was for- 
merly made. For the form cf. ' buckram.' — reechy : grimy, dirty. A 
form of ' reeky.' 

201. bulks : framework projecting from the front of a shop. 
202-203. leads fill'd . . . variable complexions : men are crowded on 

the lead-covered roofs, and the ridgepoles are bestridden by all sorts 
of people. 'Variable ' is in marked antithesis to ' all agreeing.' 

204. seld-shown : seldom showing themselves to public view. — 
flamens : a high order of priests appearing only on ceremonial 
occasions. 

206. vulgar station : standing-place among the rabble. 

207-208. the war . . . cheeks. Cf . The Taming of the Shrew, IV, v, 30 : 
" Such war of white and red within her cheeks"; Liurece, 71-72 : 

Their silent war of lilies and of roses, 
Which Tarquin view'd in her fair face's field. 

208. nicely gawded : daintily adorned. Many modern editors write 
' nicely-gawded.' 

209. Phoebus'. The reference is to Phoebus Apollo, the sun god. 

210. that whatsoever god : that god, whatsoever god he be. The 
'that' adds force to the sneer of the speaker. Some editors take 
'that' with 'if,' as in IV, ii, 13. Cf. Sonnets, xxvi, 9: "Till whatso- 
ever star that guides my moving." 



62 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Were slily crept into his human powers, 
And gave him graceful posture. 

SiciNius. On the sudden, 

I warrant him consul. 

Brutus. Then our office may, 

During his power, go sleep. 

SiciNius. He cannot temp'rately transport his honours. 
From where he should begin and end, but will 216 

Lose those he hath won. 

Brutus. In that there 's comfort. 

SiciNius. Doubt not 

The commoners, for whom we stand, but they 
Upon their ancient malice will forget. 

With the least cause, these his new honours, which 220 

That he will give them make I as little question 
As he is proud to do 't. 

Brutus. I heard him swear, 

Were he to stand for consul, never would he 
Appear i' th' market-place, nor on him put 
The napless vesture of humility, 225 

211, 240. human Rowe 1 humane Ff. 225. napless Rowe | Naples Ff. 

219. Upon : on the ground of, in consequence of. Cf. Much Ado 
About Notking,lY ,i,22$:'-^sh.Q died upon his words." SeeAbbott, §191. 

220-222. which That ... to do 't : that he will give them cause, I 
have as little doubt as that he is proud of doing it. 

225-227. " For the custom of Rome was at that time, that such as 
did sue for any office, should for certain days before be in the market- 
place, only with a poor gown on their backs, and without any coat 
underneath, to pray the citizens to remember them at the day of 
election : which was thus devised, either to move the people the 
more, by requesting them in such mean apparel, or else because 
they might show them their wounds they had gotten in the wars in 



SCENE I CORIOLANUS 63 

Nor showing, as the manner is, his wounds 
To th' people, beg their stinking breaths. 

SiciNius. 'T is right. 

Brutus. It was his word : O, he would miss it, rather 
Than carry it but by the suit of the gentry to him, 
And the desire of the nobles. 

SiciNius. I wish no better 230 

Than have him hold that purpose, and to put it 
In execution. 

Brutus. 'T is most like he will. 

SiciNius. It shall be to him then, as our good wills, 
A sure destruction. 

Brutus. So it must fall out 

To him, or our authorities. For an end, 235 

We must suggest the people in what hatred 
He still hath held them : that to 's power he would 
Have made them mules, silenc'd their pleaders, and 

228-230. It was . . . the nobles | him | Pope omits, 
four lines in Ff , 230-232. I wish ... In execution | 

229. of the Ff I o' th' Pope. — to prose in Ff. 

the service of the commonwealth, as manifest marks and testimonies 
of their valiantness." — Plutarch. North, who translated Plutarch 
from the French of Amyot (see Introduction), mistook the expression 
un robe simple {' a single gown ') and translated it ' a poor gown.' 
Shakespeare turned this into ' napless vesture of humility.' 

233. as our good wills. Either (i) 'as our dispositions towards him 
are,' or (2) ' as our advantage requires.' 

235. For an end : to bring matters to a crisis. Some editors inter- 
pret the phrase to mean 'in short,' 'to cut the matter short' 

236. suggest : suggest to, craftily remind. In Shakespeare ' sug- 
gest ' and ' suggestion ' often imply underhand methods. For the 
omission of ' to ' see Abbott, § 200. 

237. still: always, continually. So in II, ii, 130, and often. — to *s 
power : to the utmost of his power. 



64 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Dispropertied their freedoms ; holding them, 

In human action and capacity, 240 

Of no more soul nor fitness for the world 

Than camels in their war, who have their provand 

Only for bearing burdens, and sore blows 

For sinking under them. 

SiciNius. This, as you say, suggested 

At some time, when his soaring insolence 245 

Shall touch the people (which time shall not want, 
If he be put upon 't, and that 's as easy 
As to set dogs on sheep) will be his fire 
To kindle their dry stubble ; and their blaze 
Shall darken him for ever. 

Enter a Messenger 

Brutus. What 's the matter ? 250 

Messenger. You are sent for to the Capitol : 't is thought 
That Martins shall be consul : 
I have seen the dumb men throng to see him, and 
The blind to hear him speak : matrons flung gloves, 

239. Dispropertied Fi | dispropor- 248. his Ff | the Pope | as Capell, 

tioned F2F3F4. 251-254. You are . . . flung gloves | 

242. theirwarFflthewarHanmer. in Ff lines end 'Capitol,' 'consul,' 

246. touch Hanmer | teach Ff. ' see him,' ' gloves.' 

239. Dispropertied : dispossessed them of, robbed them of. 
242. their. Hanmer substituted 'the', but 'their' brings out the 
attitude of the exclusive aristocrat. — provand : provender. 

247. put upon 't : instigated to it. Cf. ' putting on,' II, iii, 247. 

254-256. An example of what has been called ' Elizabethan colour- 
ing.' The Romans are represented as doing what, in the days of 
chivalry, was done at tiltings and tournaments in honour of the vic- 
tor. ' Handkercher,' still common in dialect, probably represents 
the Elizabethan pronunciation. 



SCENE II CORIOLANUS 65 

Ladies and maids their scarfs and handkerchers, 255 

Upon him as he pass'd : the nobles bended 

As to Jove's statue, and the commons made 

A shower and thunder with their caps and shouts : 

I never saw the like. 

Brutus. Let 's to the Capitol, 

And carry with us ears and eyes for th' time, 260 

But hearts for the event. 

SiciNius. Have with you. [^xeunf] 

Scene IL TAe same. The Capitol 

Enter two Officers, to lay cushions 

1 Officer. Come, come, they are almost here. How 
many stand for consulships .'' 

2 Officer. Three, they say : but 't is thought of every 
one Coriolanus will carry it. 

1 Officer. That 's a brave fellow ; but he 's vengeance 
proud, and loves not the common people. 6 

2 Officer. Faith, there hath been many great men that 
have flatter'd the people, who ne'er loved them ; and there 
be many that they have loved, they know not wherefore : so 
that, if they love they know not why, they hate upon no 
better a ground : therefore, for Coriolanus neither to care 

Scene II Capell I Scene V Pope. ions, as it were, in the Capitol! (Capi- 
— The. . . Cafitol \ Ff omit. tall F2) (Capitol F3F4) Ff . 

I. . . . lay cushions \ ... lay Cush- 7. hath F1F2F3 | have F4. 

261. Have with you : I '11 go with you. A common idiom. 
5. vengeance: excessively, 'with a vengeance.' Cf. Ill, i, 262. 
7. hath . . . many great men. For the singular form with the plural 
subject see Abbott, §§ 334, 335. 



66 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

whether they love or hate him manifests the true knowledge 
he has in their disposition, and out of his noble carelessness 
lets them plainly see 't. 14 

1 Officer. If he did not care whether he had their love, 
or no, he waved indifferently 'twixt doing them neither good, 
nor harm ; but he seeks their hate with greater devotion 
than they can render it him, and leaves nothing undone that 
may fully discover him their opposite. Now, to seem to affect 
the malice and displeasure of the people, is as bad as that 
which he dislikes, to flatter them for their love. 21 

2 Officer. He hath deserved worthily of his country, 
and his ascent is not by such easy degrees as those who, 
having been supple and courteous to the people, bonneted, 
without any further deed to have them at all into their estima- 
tion and report : but he hath so planted his honours in their 
eyes and his actions in their hearts, that for their tongues to 

23. ascent F2F3F4 I assent Fi. 

16. waved: would waver. Cf. 'charg'd,' IV, vi, 112. For this 
simple form of the subjunctive see Abbott, § 361. 

19. discover him their opposite : reveal him as their antagonist. 

19-21. " He is less to be blamed that seeketh to please and gratify 
his common people than he that despiseth and disdaineth them, and 
therefore offereth them wrong and injury, because he would not seem 
to flatter them, to win the more authority." — Plutarch, Comparison 
of Alcibiades with Coriolanus. 

23-26. those who . . . and report : those who, supple and courteous 
to the people, doffed their bonnets to them, without doing anything 
further to win their good opinion and good words. With ' supple and 
courteous . . . bonneted' cf. 'caps and legs,' II, i, 64; III, ii, 73-86. 
Knight and Staunton take 'bonneted' in the sense of 'put on their 
bonnets': "After being supple and courteous (and so having won 
their ends) they put on their bonnets, and took no more trouble." 

25. have. Pope changed this to ' heave.' 



SCENE II CORIOLANUS 6/ 

be silent, and not confess so much, were a kind of ingrateful 
injury : to report otherwise were a malice that, giving itself 
the lie, would pluck reproof and rebuke from every ear that 
heard it. 31 

I Officer. No more of him ; he 's a worthy man : make 
way, they are coming. 

A sennet. Enter^ with Lictors before them, Cominius the 
consul, Menenius, Coriolanus, Senators, Sicinius and 
Brutus : the Senators take their places : the Tribunes 
take their places by themselves: Coriolanus stands 

Menenius. Having determin'd of the Volsces and 
To send for Titus Lartius, it remains, 35 

As the main point of this our after-meeting. 
To gratify his noble service that 

Hath thus stood for his country : therefore, please you, 
Most reverend and grave elders, to desire 
The present consul, and last general 40 

In our well-found successes, to report 
A little of that worthy work perform'd 
By Caius Martins Coriolanus ; whom 
We met here, both to thank and to remember 
With honours like himself. 

I Senator. Speak, good Cominius : 45 

34. Scene VI Pope, Consul: Sicinius (Scicinius Fi) and 

34. ... jEw/^r ... Tribunes ... I En- Brutus take their places by them- 

ter the Patricians, and the Tribunes selves : Coriolanus stands Ff. 

of the People, Lictors before them : 43. Caius Martius Rowe | Martins 

Coriolanus, Menenius, Cominius the Caius Ff. 

34. determin'd of : come to a decision concerning. 
37. gratify: requite. — his. See note, II, i, 176-177. 
41. well-found : fortunately met with. In All ^s Well that Ends 
Well, II, i, 105, the word means 'skilled,' 'expert' 



68 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Leave nothing out for length, and make us think 

Rather our state 's defective for requital 

Than we to stretch it out. [To the Tribunes] Masters o' th' 

people, 
We do request your kindest ears ; and after. 
Your loving motion toward the common body, 50 

To yield what passes here. 

SiciNius. We are convented 

Upon a pleasing treaty, and have hearts 
Inclinable to honour and advance 
The theme of our assembly. 

Brutus. Which the rather 

We shall be blest to do, if he remember 55 

A kinder value of the people than 
He hath hereto priz'd them at. 

Menenius. That 's off, that 's off : 

I would you rather had been silent : please you 
To hear Cominius speak t 

Brutus. Most willingly ; 

But yet my caution was more pertinent 60 

Than the rebuke you give it. 

Menenius. He loves your people. 

But tie him not to be their bedfellow. 

47, state 's F4 I states F1F2F3. 49. ears | eares Fi | eare F2 I ear 

48. \To the Tribunes] Camb F3F4. 

Globe I Ff omit. 51-63. We . . . place | prose in Ff. 

46-48. make us ... it out : make us think that the state lacks 
means for requital, rather than that we lack inclination to extend it. 

49-51. after . . . here: afterwards your kind interposition with the 
common people, that they may grant whatever is decided upon. 

51-52. convented Upon: summoned to ratify. Cf. II, iii, 139-140. 

57. off: off the subject, "nothing to the purpose." — Johnson. 



SCENE II CORIOLANUS 69 

Worthy Cominius, speak. [Coriolanus rises ^ and offers to go 
away.'] Nay, keep your place. 

I Senator. Sit, Coriolanus : never shame to hear 
What you have nobly done. 

Coriolanus. Your honours' pardon : 65 

I had rather have my wounds to heal again, 
Than hear say how I got them. 

Brutus. 3ir, I hope 

My words disbench'd you not. 

Coriolanus. No, sir ; yet oft. 

When blows have made me stay, I fled from words. 
You sooth'd not, therefore hurt not : but your people, 70 
I love them as they weigh. 

Menenius. Pray now, sit down. 

Coriolanus. I had rather have one scratch my head 
i' th' sun 
When the alarum were struck, than idly sit 
To hear my nothings monster'd. \Exit'\ 

Menenius. Masters of the people. 

Your multiplying spawn how can he flatter 75 

64, I Senator | Senat. Ff. — Sit 68. you not. | you not? Ff. 

Fi I Sir F2F3F4. 71. weigh. | weigh — Ff. 

67-68. Sir . . . not I one line in Ff. 74. \Extt\ Exit Coriolanus Ff. 

63. Coriolanus rises . . . This, the stage direction of the Folios, 
indicates that Coriolanus has taken his seat, perhaps after the first 
speech of Menenius. 

68. disbench'd: caused you to leave your seat. Cf.'bencher,'II, i, 75. 

70. sooth'd: flattered, cajoled. Cf. 'soothing,' I, ix, 44. 

71. weigh : are worthy. Cf. Much Ado Abotit Nothing, V, i, 92-93 : 

I know them, yea, 
And what they weigh, even to the utmost scruple. 

74. monster'd : made extraordinary. Cf. King Lear, I, i, 223. — 
Masters . . . people. An ironical repetition. Cf. line 48. 



70 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

(That 's thousand to one good one) when you now see 
He had rather venture all his limbs for honour 
Than one on 's ears to hear it ? Proceed, Cominius. 

CoMiNius. I shall lack voice : the deeds of Coriolanus 
Should not be utter'd feebly. It is held 80 

That valour is the chief est virtue and 
Most dignifies the haver : if it be, 
The man I speak of cannot in the world 
Be singly counterpois'd. At sixteen years. 
When Tarquin made a head for Rome, he fought 85 

Beyond the mark of others : our then dictator, 
Whom with all praise I point at, saw him fight, 
When with his Amazonian chin he drove 
The bristled lips before him : he bestrid 
An o'er-press'd Roman, and i' th' consul's view 90 

Slew three opposers : Tarquin's self he met, 
And struck him on his knee : in that day's feats, 
When he might act the woman in the scene, 

78. one on 's Fs I on ones F1F2 I 88. chin F3F4 I Shinne F1F2. 

one o's F4 I one of 's Rowe. 89. bristled Rowe | brizled Ff. 

76. That 's . . . good one : with only one good one in a thousand. 
78. one on's: one of his. Cf. I, ill, 63. 

84. singly : by any single man. 

85. made a head for : raised an army against. 

88. with his Amazonian chin : beardless as an Amazon. 

89-90. he bestrid . . . consul's view. " The first time he went to 
the wars, being but a stripling, was when Tarquin, surnamed the 
proud . . . did come to Rome with all the aid of the Latins . . . 
Martins valiantly fought in the sight of the Dictator : and a Roman 
soldier being thrown to the ground even hard by him, Martius 
straight bestrid him, and slew the enemy." — Plutarch. 

92. on his knee : so that he fell on his knee. 

93. In Shakespeare's time women's parts were acted by youths. 



SCENE II CORIOLANUS /I 

He prov'd best man i' th' field, and for his meed 

Was brow-bound with the oak. His pupil age 95 

Man-ent'red thus, he waxed like a sea, 

And, in the brunt of seventeen battles since, 

He lurch'd all swords of the garland. For this last, 

Before and in Corioles, let me say, 

I cannot speak him home : he stopp'd the fliers, 100 

And by his rare example made the coward 

Turn terror into sport : as weeds before 

A vessel under sail, so men obey'd, 

And fell below his stem : his sword, death's stamp, 

Where it did mark, it took from face to foot : 105 

He was a thing of blood, whose every motion 

Was tim'd with dying cries : alone he ent'red^ 

The mortal gate of th' city, which he painted 

With shunless destiny : aidless came off, 

98. of the Fi|o' th F2I0' th' F3F4. 102. weeds Fi | Waves F2F3F4. 

96. Man-ent'red thus : thus entered into manhood. 

98. lurch'd : cheated, robbed. Cf. Ben Jonson, The Silent Woman 
(1609), V, iv : "Well, Dauphine, you have lurch'd your friends of the 
better half of the garland." 

100. speak him home : describe him thoroughly. For the force of 
'home' cf. 'charge him home,' III, iii, i. 

105. took : made its way. " Take ... In early use chiefly with to ; 
in later use with any prep, or adv. of direction ; usually implying 
prompt action." — Murray. The punctuation in this line is that of 
the Folios. Most editors put a semicolon after 'took' and remove 
the colon from the end of the line, an arrangement that destroys the 
impressive figure. Cf. Macbeth, I, ii, 22 : " Till he unseam'd him from 
the nave to th' chops." 

108-109. mortal: deadly. Cf. Ill, i, 297. — painted . . . destiny. 
Plague-stricken houses were painted with a red cross? but there may 
be here a reminiscence of Exodtis, xii, 22-23. — shunless : inevitable. 



72 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

And with a sudden re-inforcement struck no 

Corioles like a planet. Now all 's his : 

When, by and by, the din of war gan pierce 

His ready sense ; then straight his doubled spirit 

Re-quick 'ned what in flesh was fatigate. 

And to the battle came he, where he did 115 

Run reeking o'er the lives of men, as if 

'T were a perpetual spoil : and till we call'd 

Both field and city ours, he never stood 

To ease his breast with panting. 

Menenius. Worthy man 1 

I Senator. He cannot but with measure fit the honours 

Which we devise him. 

CoMiNius. Our spoils he kick'd at, 121 

And look'd upon things precious as they were 

The common muck of the world : he covets less 

Than misery itself would give, rewards 

His deeds with doing them, and is content 125 

To spend the time to end it. 

120-121, I Senator | i Sen. Rowe's arrangement | Ff print as prose. 
Rowe I Senat. Ff . — He . . . him 123. of the Fi | o' th F2 I o' th' F3F4. 

iio-iii. struck . . . like a planet. An astrological allusion to the 
malign influence of adverse planets on human destiny. Cf. Hamlet, 
I, i, 162: "The nights are wholesome, then no planets strike." 
112. gan. An aphetic (but not contracted) form of * began.' 
114. fatigate: fatigued. SeeMurray(OxfordDictionary)under'-ate.' 
120. with measure: adequately, proportionately. As Verity points 
out, we have here an example of dramatic irony, for ' the honours ' 
referred to bring on the catastrophe. 

124. misery. Perhaps 'avarice,' as suggested by 'covets.' "His 
mean and simple ordinary of diet . . . was imputed misery and 
niggardliness in him." — Plutarch, Life of Galba. 

126. to end it : merely for the sake of thus spending it. 



SCENE II CORIOLANUS 73 

Menenius. He 's right noble : 

Let him be call'd for. 

I Senator. Call Coriolanus. 

Officer. He doth appear. 

Re-enter Coriolanus 

Menenius. The senate, Coriolanus, are well pleas'd 
To make thee consul 

Coriolanus. I do owe them still 130 

*My life and services. 

Menenius. It then remains 

That you do speak to the people. 

Coriolanus. I do beseech you, 

Let me o'erleap that custom, for I cannot 
Put on the gown, stand naked, and entreat them, 
For my wounds' sake, to give their suffrage : please you 135 
That I may pass this doing. 

SiciNius. Sir, the people 

Must have their voices ; neither will they bate 
One jot of ceremony. 

Menenius. Put them not to 't : . 

127. I Senator | i. S. Capell | Call for Coriolanus Steevens. 
Senat. Ff . — Call Coriolanus Ff | 129. Re-enter . , . | Enter . . . Ff . 

133-135- " Now Martius . . . shewed many wounds and cuts upon 
his body, which he had received in seventeen years' service at the 
wars, and in many sundry battles, being ever the foremost man that 
did set out feet to fight. So that there was not a man among the 
people but was ashamed of himself, to refuse so valiant a man : and 
one of them said to another, 'we must needs choose him Consul, 
there is no remedy.'" — Plutarch. Cf. II, iii, 82-84. 

137. have their voices : exercise their votes. ' Voice ' in this sense 
occurs in II, iii, i, and elsewhere in the play. 



74 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Pray you, go fit you to the custom, and 

Take to you, as your predecessors have, 140 

Your honour with your form. 

CoRiOLANUs. It is a part 

That I shall blush in acting, and might well 
Be taken from the people. 

Brutus. Mark you that. 

CoRiOLANUS. To brag unto them, thus I did, and thus ; 
Show them th' unaching scars, which I should hide, 145 

As if I had receiv'd them for the hire 
Of their breath only. 

Menenius. Do not stand upon 't. 

We recommend to you, tribunes of the people. 
Our purpose to them, and to our noble consul 
Wish we all joy and honour. 150 

Senators. To Coriolanus come all joy and honour! 

[Flourish of cornets. Exeunt all hit Sicinius and Brutus] 

Brutus. You see how he intends to use the people. 

Sicinius. May they perceive 's intent ! he will require them, 
As if he did contemn what he requested 
Should be in them to give. 

Brutus. Come, we'll inform them 155 

Of our proceedings here : on th' market-place 
I know they do attend us. [Exeunt'] 

143. that. Ff I that? Rowe Camb. ish Comets. Then Exeunt. Manet 
151. Senators | Senat. Ff | Sic. (Manent F4) Sicinius and Brutus Ff. 
Rowe. — [i^/fiizmj-Zz... Brutus] Flour- 157. [^Exeunt] Rowe | Ff omit. 

141. your form : the formality which you must go through. 
147. stand upon't: insist upon objecting. 

154-155. contemn . . . give: despise that it should be in their power 
to give that which he requested. 

156. The Folios have no mark of punctuation after ' here.' 



SCENE III CORIOLANUS 75 

Scene III. The same. The Forum 

Enter seven or eight Citizens 

1 Citizen. Once, if he do require our voices, we ought 
not to deny him. 

2 Citizen. We may, sir, if we will. 

3 Citizen. We have power in ourselves to do it, but it is 
a power that we have no power to do : for, if he show us 
his wounds, and tell us his deeds, we are to put our tongues 
into those wounds, and speak for them : so, if he tell us his 
noble deeds, we must also tell him our noble acceptance of 
them. Ingratitude is monstrous, and for the multitude to be 
ingrateful, were to make a rnonster of the multitude ; of 
the which we being members, should bring ourselves to be 
monstrous members. 12 

I Citizen. And to make us no better thought of a little 
help will serve ; for once we stood up about the corn, he 
himself stuck not to call us the many-headed multitude. 15 

3 Citizen. We have been call'd so of many ; not that 
our heads are some brown, some black, some abram, some 
bald, but that our wits are so diversely colour'd: and truly I 

Scene III Capell | Scene VII pell | Ff omit. 
Pope. — The same. The Forum Ca- 17. abram F1F2F3 | auburn F4. 

I. Once: once for all, in short. — voices: votes. Cf. II, ii, 137. 

14. once : on the occasion that. See Abbott, § 244. 

15. many-headed multitude. Cf. 1X1,1,93; IV, i, 1-2, The allusion 
is to the nine-headed Hydra slain by Hercules. 

17. abram. Modern editors often substitute ' auburn,' but Murray 
quotes from Peacham's Compleat Gentleman (1661) to show that a 
distinction was drawn between them : " Abram-colour, i.e. brown. 
Auburne or Abborne, i.e. brown or brown-black." 



76 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

think, if all our wits were to issue out of one skull, they 
would fly east, west, north, south, and their consent of one 
direct way should be at once to all the points o' th' compass. 

2 Citizen. Think you so ? Which way do you judge my 
wit would fly ? 23 

3 Citizen. Nay, your wit will not so soon out as another 
man's will ; 't is strongly wedg'd up in a block-head ; but if 
it were at liberty, 't would, sure, southward. 

2 Citizen. Why that way ? 

3 Citizen. To lose itself in a fog, where being three parts 
melted away with rotten dews, the fourth would return for 
conscience sake, to help to get thee a wife. 30 

2 Citizen. You are never without your tricks : you may, 
you may. 

3 Citizen. Are you all resolv'd to give your voices ? But 
that 's no matter, the greater part carries it. I say, if he 
would incline to the people, there was never a worthier man. 

JSnfer CoRiOLAT^jjs in a gown of humility^ with Menenius 

Here he comes, and in the gown of humility: mark his be- 
haviour. We are not to stay all together, but to come by 
him where he stands, by ones, by twos, and by threes. He 's 
to make his requests by particulars, wherein every one of us 
has a single honour, in giving him our own voices with our 

21. 0' th' F4 I a' th F1F2. 28. lose F8F4 I loose F1F2. 

25. wedg'd F2F8F4 I wadg'd Fi. 34. it. I Rowe | it, I Ff. 

26-29. southward . . . fog . . . rotten dews. See note, I, iv, 30. 

31-32. you may, you may : chaff me as much as you like. 

34. Theobald's punctuation. The Folios have ' it, I say. If . . .' 

36. gown of humility. Cf. II, i, 225. 

39. by particulars : to each plebeian individually. 



SCENE III CORIOLANUS 7/ 

own tongues : therefore follow me, and I '11 direct you how 
you shall go by him. 42 

All. Content, content. [Exeunt Citizens] 

Menenius. O sir, you are not right : have you not known 
The worthiest men have done 't ? 

CoRiOLANUS. What must I say ? 45 

' I pray, sir ? ' (Plague upon 't ! I cannot bring 
My tongue to such a pace) ' Look, sir, my wounds ! 
I got them in my country's service, when 
Some certain of your brethren roar'd, and ran 
From th' noise of our own drums.' 

Menenius. O me, the gods ! 50 

You must not speak of that : you must desire them 
To think upon you. 

CoRiOLANUS. Think upon me ? hang 'em ! 

I would they would forget me, like the virtues 
Which our divines lose by 'em. 

Menenius. You '11 mar all : 

I '11 leave you : pray you, speak to 'em, I pray you, 55 

In wholesome manner. \Exit'\ 

Re-e7iter three of the Citizens 

CORIOLANUS. Bid them wash their faces, 

And keep their teeth clean : so, here comes a brace : 

43. \Exeunt . . .] Capell | Ff omit. 56. Re-enter . . . | Enter . . . Ff. 

54. divines lose by 'em : preachers are ever wasting on them. 
A Roman referring to ' divines ' is a characteristic anachronism. 

56. wholesome : reasonable. Cf. Hamlet, III, ii, 328: "make me a 
wholesome answer." Coriolanus (lines 56-57) plays on the word. 

57. brace. Two of the three citizens who have just entered. They 
are followed by the third citizen, who speaks in line 59. In line 38 the 
citizens are directed to approach "by ones, by twos, and by threes." 



78 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

You know the cause, sir, of my standing here. 

3 Citizen. We do, sir; tell us what hath brought you 
to 't. 60 

CoRiOLANUS. Mine own desert. 

2 Citizen. Your own desert ! 
CoRiOLANUS. Ay, not mine own desire. 

3 Citizen. How ? not your own desire ? 
CoRiOLANUS. No, sir, 't was never my desire yet to trouble 

the poor with begging. 66 

3 Citizen. You must think, if we give you any thing, we 
hope to gain by you. 

CORIOLANUS. Well then, I pray, your price o' th' con- 
sulship. 70 

1 Citizen. The price is, to ask it kindly. 
CORIOLANUS. Kindly ! Sir, I pray let me ha 't : I have 

wounds to show you, which shall be yours in private. Your 
good voice, sir : what say you ? 

2 Citizen. You shall ha 't, worthy sir. 75 
CORIOLANUS. A match, sir. There 's in all two worthy 

voices begg'd. I have your alms : adieu. 

3 Citizen. But this is something odd. 

2 Citizen. And 't were to give again — but 't is no 
matter. \Exeunt the three Citizens] 80 

59, 64, 67, 78. 3 Citizen | 3 Cit. 69. 0' th' F4 1 a' th' FiFs I a' th F2. 

Ff I I Cit. Rowe. 79. And Ff | An Pope. 

63, Ay, not I I, not F3F4 | I, but 80. \Exe7mt the three Citizens] 

Fi II , no F2 1 Ay, but not Camb Globe. Exeunt Ff . 

67-68. " Not seeing that Coriolanus spoke ironically, the citizen 
encourages him — with wasted kindness." — Verity. 

73. wounds ... private. Cf. lines 11 5-1 16. Seenote, II, ii, 133-135. 

76-77. After the ' match ' (' bargain ') he walks away to meet other 
citizens. 



SCENE III CO RIO LAN US 79 

Re-enter two other Citizens 

CoRiOLANUS. Pray you now, if it may stand with the tune 
of your voices that I may be consul, I have here the custom- 
ary gown. 

4 Citizen. You have deserved nobly of your country, and 
you have not deserved nobly. 85 

CoRiOLANUS. Your enigma ? 

4 Citizen. You have been a scourge to her enemies, you 
have been a rod to her friends ; you have not indeed loved 
the common people. . 89 

CORIOLANUS. You should account me the more virtuous, 
that I have not been common in my love. I will, sir, flatter 
my sworn brother, the people, to earn a dearer estimation 
of them ; 't is a condition they account gentle : and since the 
wisdom of their choice is rather to have my hat than my 
heart, I will practise the insinuating nod, and be off to them 
most counterfeitly ; that is, sir, I will counterfeit the bewitch- 
ment of some popular man, and give it bountiful to the de- 
sirers : therefore, beseech you I may be consul. 

5 Citizen. We hope to find you our friend ; and there- 
fore give you our voices heartily. 100 

4 Citizen. You have received many wounds for your 
country. 

81. Re-enter . . . | Enter . . . Ff . 86. enigma? | JEmgxna.1 Rowe | 

84, 87,101. 4 Citizen Camb Globe Enigma. Ff, 
I I. Ff.l I Cit. Rowe I Third Cit. Reed. 99. 5 Citizen Camb | 2. Ff. 

92. sworn brother. In mediaeval chivalry the brothers in arms 
{fratres jurati) vowed to share each other's fortunes. Cf. Much Ado 
About Nothing, I, i, 72-73: "He hath every month a new sworn 
brother." 

93. condition : disposition, temper. So in V, iv, 10. 

95. be off to them : be off with my cap to them. Cf. II, ii, 24. 



8o THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

CoRiOLANUS. I will not seal your knowledge with show- 
ing them. I will make much of your voices, and so trouble 
you no farther. 105 

Both Citizens. The gods give you joy, sir, heartily ! 

\Exeunt\ 

CoRiOLANUS. Most sweet voices ! 
Better it is to die, better to starve. 
Than crave the hire which first we do deserve. 
Why in this woolvish toge should I stand here, no 

To beg of Hob and Dick, that do appear. 
Their needless vouches ? Custom calls me to 't : 

106. Both Citizens | Both Ff. | tongue Fi I gowne F2F3F4. 
— \Exeunt\ Rowe | Ff omit. iii. do F4 I does F1F2F3. 

108. starve F4 I sterve F1F2F3. 112. vouches? F4 I Vouches: Fi 
no. toge Malone (Steevensconj.) F2F3. 

103. seal : confirm. To ' seal ' a contract is to ' ratify ' it. 

109. Than be humiliated by having to beg for the wages that we 
have already earned. The rhymed couplets in lines 108-119 indicate 
the emotional excitement of Coriolanus and give epigrammatic edge 
to his contempt. ' Deserve ' rhymes with ' starve ' (see textual vari- 
ants). Cf. ' carve ' and ' serve,' Love's Labour''s Lost, IV, i, 55, 56. 

no. woolvish toge : wolfish toga. ' Toge ' is a monosyllabic form 
of ' toga,' the gown worn by the Romans in time of peace. Here the 
reference may be to the toga Candida, which was worn by those who 
canvassed for office. The toga was made of undyed wool. A double 
meaning was probably intended here in 'woolvish,' referring both to 
the material of the gown and to the fact that the speaker is really 
playing the part of the wolf in sheep's clothing, wearing the " nap- 
less vesture of humility" (II, i, 225), while he is conscious of being 
anything but humble. 

111. ' Hob ' and ' Dick ' are Roman roughs with common English 
names. Another example like ' divines ' (line 54) of what Verity 
calls the " frank Elizabethanism of Shakespeare's Roman plays." 

112. The 'vouches' are 'needless' because in his opinion the 
voice of the people should have no effect on the choice of a consul. 



SCENE III CORIOLANUS 8l 

What custom wills, in all things should we do 't, 

The dust on antique time would lie unswept, 

And mountainous error be too highly heapt 115 

For truth to o'er-peer. Rather than fool it so, 

Let the high office and the honour go 

To one that would do thus. I am half through : 

The one part suffered, the other will I do. 

Re-enter three Citizens more 

Here come moe voices. 120 

Your voices : for your voices I have fought ; 

Watch'd for your voices ; for your voices bear 

Of wounds two dozen odd ; battles thrice six 

I have seen and heard of ; for your voices have 

Done many things, some less, some more : your voices : 125 

Indeed, I would be consul. 

6 Citizen. He has done nobly, and cannot go without 
any honest man's voice. 

7 Citizen. Therefore let him be consul : the gods give 
him joy, and make him good friend to the people ! 130 

All Citizens. Amen, amen. God save thee, noble 
consul ! \Exeunt'\ 

Coriolanus. Worthy voices ! 

120. Re-enter . . . | Enter . . . Ff . | 6 Cit. Reed. 
127. 6 Citizen Camb | i.Cit. Ff | 130. good Ff I a good Rowe. 

5 Cit. Reed. 132. \Exeimt\ Rowe | Ff omit. 

129. 7 Citizen Camb | 2. Cit. Ff 

120-125. The spirit of this speech is one of irony and burlesque. 
The repetition of 'voices' and the affected grandiloquence of lines 
123-124 emphasize this. — moe: more. In Middle English 'moe,' or 
'mo,' was used of number, and with collective nouns; 'more' had 
reference specifically to size. See Murray. 



82 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Re-e?iter Menenius, ivith Brutus and Sicinius 

Menenius. You have stood your limitation, and the 
tribunes 
Endue you with the people's voice : remains 135 

That in th' official marks invested, you 
Anon do meet the senate. 

CoRiOLANUs. Is this done ? 

Sicinius. The custom of request you have discharg'd : 
The people do admit you, and are summon'd 
To meet anon, upon your approbation. 140 

CoRiOLANUs. Where ? at the senate-house ? 

Sicinius. There, Coriolanus. 

CORIOLANUS. May I change these garments ? 

Sicinius. You may, sir. 

Coriolanus. That I '11 straight do ; and, knowing myself 
again, 
Repair to th' senate-house. 

Menenius. I '11 keep you company. Will you along ? 145 

Brutus. We stay here for the people. 

Sicinius. Fare you well. 

\Exeunt Coriolanus and Menenius] 
He has it now ; and, by his looks, methinks 
'T is warm at 's heart. 

Brutus. With a proud heart he wore 

His humble weeds. Will you dismiss the people t 149 

147. Scene VIII Pope. 

134. your limitation : your appointed time, the time required of you. 

135. remains : it remains. For this form see Abbott, § 404. 

137. Anon: immediately. So in Hne 140. Cf. ' presently,' hne 248. 
140. upon your approbation : to confirm your election. Cf. line 246. 



SCENE III CORIOLANUS 83 

Re-enter Citizens 

SiciNius. How now, my mastersl have you chose this man? 

1 Citizen. He has our voices, sir, 

Brutus. We pray the gods he may deserve your loves. 

2 Citizen. Amen, sir : to my poor unworthy notice. 
He mock'd us when he begg'd our voices. 

3 Citizen. Certainly 

He flouted us downright. 155 

1 Citizen. No, 't is his kind of speech ; he did not 

mock us. 

2 Citizen. Not one amongst us, save yourself, but says 
He us'd us scornfully : he should have show'd us 

His marks of merit, wounds receiv'd for 's country. 159 

SiciNius. Why, so he did, I am sure. 
Citizens. No, no ; no man saw 'em. 

3 Citizen. He said he had wounds, which he could show 

in private ; 
And with his hat, thus waving it in scorn, 
* I would be consul,' says he : ' aged custom, 
But by your voices, will not so permit me : 
Your voices therefore.' When we granted that, 165 

Here was ' I thank you for your voices : thank you : 
Your most sweet voices : now you have left your voices, 
I have no further with you.' Was not this mockery ? 
SiciNius. Why either were you ignorant to see 't ? 

150. Re-enter Citizens I Enter the 160. Citizens | All Ff. 
Plebeians Ff. 162. hat Ff | cap Pope. 

153. notice Ff | notion Dyce. 169. ignorant Ff I impotent Hanmer. 

163. aged custom. Historically this was but eighteen years after 
the expulsion of Tarquin and the establishment of the consulship. 
169. ignorant to see 't : too stupid to see it. 



84 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Or, seeing it, of such childish friendliness 170 

To yield your voices ? 

Brutus. Could you not have told him, 

As you were lesson'd, when he had no power, 
But was a petty servant to the state. 
He was your enemy ; ever spake against 
Your liberties and the charters that you bear 175 

I' th' body of the weal ; and now, arriving 
A place of potency, and sway o' th' state, 
If he should still malignantly remain 
Fast foe to th' plebeii, your voices might 
Be curses to yourselves ? You should have said 180 

That as his worthy deeds did claim no less 
Than what he stood for, so his gracious nature 
Would think upon you for your voices, and 
Translate his malice towards you into love. 
Standing your friendly lord. 

SiciNius. Thus to have said, 185 

As you were fore-advis'd, had touch'd his spirit 
And tried his inclination ; from him pluck'd 
Either his gracious promise, which you might. 
As cause had call'd you up, have held him to ; 
Or else it would have gall'd his surly nature, 190 

177. A place F1F2F3 I At place F4. 

175. charters : political rights. Cf. I, ix, 14. 

176. weal: state, body politic. Cf. I, i, 146; III, i, 176. — arriv- 
ing : arriving at. Prepositions are frequently omitted after verbs of 
motion. See Abbott, § 198. 

179. plebeii : plebeians. The Latin name, here pronounced' ple'be-i.' 
186. touch'd : tested. The metaphor is that of a touchstone. 
Cf. 'friends of noble touch,' IV, i, 49. 

190-193. Shakespeare has many metaphors of a high-spirited horse. 



SCENE III CORIOLANUS 85 

Which easily endures not article 
Tying him to aught ; so, putting him to rage, 
You should have ta'en the advantage of his choler. 
And pass'd him unelected. 

Brutus. Did you perceive 

He did solicit you in free contempt, 195 

When he did need your loves ; and do you think 
That his contempt shall not be bruising to you, 
When he hath power to crush ? Why, had your bodies 
No heart among you ? or had you tongues to cry 
Against the rectorship of judgment ? 

SiciNius. Have you, 200 

Ere now, denied the asker ? and now again. 
Of him that did not ask, but mock, bestow 
Your sued-for tongues ? 

3 Citizen. He 's not confirm'd ; we may deny him yet. 

2 Citizen. And will deny him : 205 

1 11 have five hundred voices of that sound. 

I Citizen. I twice five hundred, and their friends to 
piece 'em. 

Brutus. Get you hence instantly, and tell those friends. 
They have chose a consul that will from them take 
Their liberties, make them of no more voice 210 

Than dogs, that are as often beat for barking. 
As therefore kept to do so. 

SiciNius. Let them assemble ; 

And, on a safer judgment, all revoke 

207. I twice F1F2F3 I I, twice F4 I Ay, twice Rowe. 

200. Against what your judgment counseled or commanded. 
212. therefore. Some modern editors substitute 'they are.' 



86 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

Your ignorant election : enforce his pride, 

And his old hate unto you : besides, forget not 215 

With what contempt he wore the humble weed. 

How in his suit he scorn'd you : but your loves, 

Thinking upon his services, took from you 

Th' apprehension of his present portance. 

Which most gibingly, ungravely, he did fashion 220 

After the inveterate hate he bears you. 

Brutus. Lay 

A fault on us, your tribunes, that we labour 'd. 
No impediment between, but that you must 
Cast your election on him. 

SiciNius. Say you chose him 

More after our commandment than as guided 225 

By your own true affections ; and that your minds, 
Pre-occupied with what you rather must do 
Than what you should, made you against the grain 
To voice him consul : lay the fault on us. 229 

Brutus. Ay, spare us not. Say we read lectures to you, 
How youngly he began to serve his country, 
How long continued, and what stock he springs of, 

214. enforce : lay stress on. Cf. Ill, iii, 3, and see note. 

219. portance : bearing. ' Port ' is the more common form. 

222-224. we labour'd ... on him : we took pains that there might 
be no obstacle to prevent you from voting for him. Here we have 
an excellent piece of that demagogical craft which is summed up in 
the proverb of holding the dog and hounding it. 

231. youngly : early. Cf. Sonnets, XI, 3 : "And that fresh blood 
which youngly thou bestowest." "But Martins being more inclined 
to the wars than any other gentleman of his time, began from his 
childhood to give himself to handle weapons, and daily did exercise 
himself therein : and he esteemed outward armour to no purpose, 
unless one were naturally armed within." — Plutarch. 



SCENE III CORIOLANUS 8/ 

The noble house, o' th' Martians ; from whence came 

That Ancus Martius, Numa's daughter's son, 

Who, after great Hostilius, here was king ; 235 

Of the same house Publius and Quintus were. 

That our best water brought by conduits hither, 

[And he that was surnamed Censorinus,] 

233-240. " The house of the Martians at Rome was of the number 
of the Patricians, out of the which have sprung many noble person- 
ages, whereof Ancus Martius was one, King Numa's daughter's son, 
who was King of Rome after Tullus Hostilius. Of the same house 
were Publius and Quintus, who brought to Rome their best water 
they had, by conduits." — Plutarch. 

238-240. This is the textual crux of the play. The Folios read : 

And Nobly nam'd, so twice being Censor, 
Was his great Ancestor. 

The context shows that something is wanting. The easiest assump- 
tion is that the printer has omitted a line. The striking similarity of 
the two lines given in the emended text would make it easy for a 
printer to omit one or the other. Such an omission is not unusual 
even in these days of careful typesetting. The material for the missing 
line is supplied from Plutarch : " Censorinus also came of that family, 
that was so surnamed, because the people had chosen him censor 
twice." The only question is that of arrangement. The line should 
begin with 'And,' the natural connective with what precedes. ' Cen- 
sorinus ' is put at the end of the line because it agrees with the con- 
text in preserving a climax as in lines 247-249, and places ' Censorinus' 
over 'Censor' (spelled with a capital in the Folios). Furthermore, 
this position of ' Censorinus ' is supported by the only two passages 
in Shakespeare where the word 'surnamed' occurs {Love's Labour'' s 
Losi.Y, ii, 553; TiHis A^idronicus, I, i, 23). The word 'so' in the 
passage from Plutarch merely anticipates the causal clause, and hence 
plays no part in the emendation. A widely accepted rearrangement 
of the lines is found in the Globe text : 

And [Censorinus] nobly named so, 

Twice being [by the people chosen] censor, 

Was his ffreat ancestor. 



88 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act ii 

And nobly nam'd so, twice being censor, 
Was his great ancestor. 

SiciNius. One thus descended, 240 

That hath beside well in his person wrought 
To be set high in place, we did commend 
To your remembrances ; but you have found. 
Scaling his present bearing with his past. 
That he 's your fixed enemy, and revoke 245 

Your sudden approbation. 

Brutus. Say, you ne'er had done 't 

(Harp on that still) but by our putting on ; 
And presently, when you have drawn your number, 
Repair to th' Capitol. 

All. We will so : almost all 

Repent in their election. \Exeunt Citizens] 

Brutus. Let them go on : 250 

This mutiny were better put in hazard. 
Than stay, past doubt, for greater : 
If, as his nature is, he fall in rage 
With their refusal, both observe and answer 
The vantage of his anger. 

SiciNius. To th' Capitol, come : 255 

We will be there before the stream o' th' people ; 
And this shall seem, as partly 't is, their own, 
Which we have goaded onward. \Exeunt'\ 

251. [Exeunt Citizens] Exeunt Plebeians Ff. 

244. Scaling : putting in the scales, weighing, estimating. 

247. putting on: instigating, inciting. Cf. * put on,' II, i, 247. 

248. presently : immediately. — drawn your number : assembled 
those who think as you do. Cf. lines 206-207. 

254-255. Be ready to take advantage of his anger. 



ACT III 

Scene I. Rome. A street 

Cornets. Enter Coriolanus, Menenius, all the Gentry, 
CoMiNius, Titus Lartius, and other Senators 

Coriolanus. Tullus Aufidius then had made new head ? 

Lartius. He had, my lord, and that it was which caus'd 
Our swifter composition. 

Coriolanus. So then the Volsces stand but as at first : 
Ready, when time shall prompt them, to make road 5 

Upon 's again. 

CoMiNius. They are worn, lord consul, so. 
That we shall hardly in our ages see 
Their banners wave again. 

Coriolanus. Saw you Aufidius .? 

Lartius. On safe-guard -he came to me, and did curse 
Against the Volsces, for they had so vilely 10 

Yielded the town : he is retired to Antium. 

Coriolanus. Spoke he of me t 

Lartius. He did, my Idrd, 

Coriolanus. How .? what ? 

ACT III. Scene I | Actus Ter- i. head? Rowe i head. Ff. 

tius Ff. — Rome. A street \ Ff omit. lo. vilely F4 I vildly F1F2F3. 

I. made new head: collected a fresh army. Cf. II, ii, 85. 
3. Our swifter composition : coming to terms sooner than we had 
intended. We still speak of ' composing ' (settling) differences. 
9. On safe-guard : with a guard (i.e. of Roman troops) to protect him. 

89 



90 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iii 

Lartius. How often he had met you, sword to sword : 
That of all things upon the earth he hated 
Your person most : that he would pawn his fortunes 1 5 

To hopeless restitution, so he might 
Be calPd your vanquisher. 

CoRiOLANUS, At Antium lives he ? 

Lartius. At Antium. 

CoRiOLANUS. I wish I had a cause to seek him there, 
To oppose his hatred fully. Welcome home. 20 

Enter Sicinius and Brutus 

Behold, these are the tribunes of the people. 

The tongues o' th' common mouth. I do despise them : 

For they do prank them in authority, 

Against all noble sufferance. 

Sicinius. Pass no further. 

CORIOLANUS. Ha ? what is that ? 25 

Brutus. It will be dangerous to go on. No further. 

CORIOLANUS. What makes this change .'' 

Menenius. The matter ? 

CoMiNius. Hath he not pass'd the noble and the common ? 

Brutus. Cominius, no. 

CoRiOLANUS. Have I had children's voices ? 30 

I Senator. Tribunes, give way ; he shall to th' market- 
place. 

29. noble . . . common Fi I Noble 31, 63, 75. i Senator | i. S. Ca- 

. . . Commons F2F3F4 | nobles . . . pell | Senat. Ff. 
commons Rowe. 

16. To hopeless restitution : beyond hope of recovery. 
19-20. Ironical. Coriolanus little realizes how soon he will go to 
Antium, and with what change of feelings. 

24. Against all noble sufferance : beyond the endurance of the nobles. 



SCENE I CORIOLANUS 91 

Brutus. The people are incens'd against him. 

SiCINIUS. Stop, 

Or all will fall in broil. 

CoRiOLANUS. Are these your herd ? 

Must these have voices, that can yield them now. 
And straight disclaim their tongues ? What are your offices ? 
You being their mouths, why rule you not their teeth } 36 
Have you not set them on ? 

Menenius. Be calm, be calm. 

CoRiOLANUs. It is a purpos'd thing, and grows by plot. 
To curb the will of the nobility : 

Suffer 't, and live with such as cannot rule, 40 

Nor ever will be ruled. 

Brutus. Call 't not a plot : 

The people cry you mock'd them ; and of late, 
When corn was given them gratis, you repin'd, 
Scandal'd the suppliants for the people, call'd them 
Time-pleasers, flatterers, foes to nobleness. 45 

Coriolanus. Why, this was known before. 

Brutus. Not to them all. 

Coriolanus. Have you inform'd them sithence ? 

44. suppliants for F4 1 Suppliants : for F1F2F3. 

43-45. "The common people stood also about the palace where 
the council was kept, . . . persuading themselves that the corn they 
had bought should be sold good cheap, and that which was given 
should be divided by the poll, without paying a penny. . . . But 
Martins . . . did somewhat sharply take up those who went about to 
gratify the people therein : and called them people-pleasers, and 
traitors to the Nobility." — Plutarch. 

47. sithence. The uncontracted form of ' since.' Shakespeare uses 
' sithence ' and the shortened form ' sith,' like ' since,' both as an 
adverb of time and as a subordinating conjunction. 



92 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act m 

Brutus. How ? I inform them ? 

CoMiNius. You are like to do such business. 

Brutus. .. Not unlike 

Each way, to better yours. 

CoRiOLANUs. Why then should I be consul ? by yond clouds 
Let me deserve so ill as you, and make me 51 

Your fellow tribune. 

SiciNius. You show too much of that 

For which the people stir : if you will pass 
To where you are bound, you must inquire your way. 
Which you are out of, with a gentler spirit; 55 

Or never be so noble as a consul. 
Nor yoke with him for tribune. 

Menenius. Let 's be calm. 

CoMiNius. The people are abus'd ; set on. This palt'ring 
Becomes not Rome ; nor has Coriolanus 
Deserv'd this so dishonour'd rub, laid falsely 66 

I' th' plain way of his merit. 

48. You . . . business. Theobald gave this speech to Coriolanus. 

48-49. Not unlike Each way, to better yours : not unlikely to sur- 
pass your action in every way. 

58. abus'd : deceived, imposed upon. The word means Hterally 
'use amiss.' — set on. This may be either in the same construction 
as 'abus'd' and mean 'instigated,' 'led on,' or it may be an impera- 
tive in the sense of ' proceed,' ' on to the market-place ! ' — palt'ring : 
shuffling, equivocating. Ci./iclms Ccesar, II, i, 124-126: 

what other bond 
Than secret Romans that have spoke the word, 
And will not palter? 

60. dishonour'd rub : dishonourable thwarting. Murray defines 'rub' 
as " an obstacle or impediment by which a bowl is hindered in, or 
diverted from, its proper course." Cf. Henry V, V, ii, 33 : " What 
rub or what impediment there is." 



SCENE I ' CORIOLANUS 93 

CoRiOLANUS. . Tell me of corn ! 

This was my speech, and I will speak 't again — 

Menenius. Not now, not now. 

I Senator. Not in this heat, sir, now. 

CoRiOLANUS. Now as I live, I will. My nobler friends, 
I crave their pardons : 65 

For the mutable, rank-scented many, let them 
Regard me, as I do not flatter, and 
Therein behold themselves : I say again, 
In soothing them, we nourish 'gainst our senate 
The cockle of rebellion, insolence, sedition, 70 

Which we ourselves have ploughed for, sow'd, and scatter'd, 
By mingling them with us, the honour'd number, 
Who lack not virtue, no, nor power, but that 
Which they have given to beggars. 

Menenius. Well, no more. 

I Senator. No more words, we beseech you. 

CORIOLANUS. How ? uo morc ? 

As for my country, I have shed my blood, 70 

Not fearing outward force, so shall my lungs 
Coin words till their decay against those measles 
Which we disdain should tetter us, yet sought 
The very way to catch them. 

62. again — Rowe I againe. Ff. 71. ploughed | plowed Ff. 

66. many F4 I Meynie Fi. 78. measles Rowe | Meazels Ff. 

67-68. " Let them look in the mirror which I hold up to them, a 
mirror which does not flatter, and see themselves." — Johnson. 

69-71. ''They nourished against themselves the naughty seed and 
cockle of insolence and sedition, which had been sowed and scattered 
abroad amongst the people." — Plutarch. 

78. measles : leprous wretches. The word meant both ' lepers ' 
and ' leprosy.' 



94 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act hi 

Brutus. You speak o' th' people, 80 

As if you were a god, to punish, not 
A man of their infirmity. 

SiciNius. 'T weire well 

We let the people know 't. 

Menenius. What, what ? his choler ? 

CoRiOLANus. Choler ? 
Were I as patient as the midnight sleep, 85 

By Jove, 't would be my mind ! 

SiciNius. It is a mind 

That shall remain a poison where it is, 
Not poison any further. 

CoRiOLANUS. Shall remain ? 

Hear you this Triton of the minnows ? mark you 
His absolute ' shall ' } 

CoMiNius. 'T was from the canon. 

CORIOLANUS. ^ Shall ? ' 90 

O good, but most unwise patricians ! why. 
You grave but reckless senators, have you thus 
Given Hydra here to choose an officer. 
That with his peremptory * shall,' being but 
The horn and noise o' th' monster's, wants not spirit 95 

90. canon | Cannon Ff. FiF2 I wreakless F3F4. 

91. good Pope Camb | God Ff. 95. monster's Delius | monsters 

92. reckless Hanmer j wreaklesse Ff | monster Capell. 

89. Triton. The sea demigod that blows his horn of conch shell to 
raise or calm the waves. A great personage to the little fish. 

90. from the canon: contrary to the law. Cf. Ill, iii, 12-18. Some 
editors interpret it ' according to the rule.' In Porter and Clarke's 
' First Folio ' edition, the ' Cannon ' of the Folios is retained in the 
sense of ' big gun.' 

93. Hydra. See note, II, iii, 15. Cf. IV, i 1-2. 

95. The horn and noise : the noisy horn. A hendiadys. 



SCENE I CORIOLANUS 95 

To say he '11 turn your current in a ditch, 

And make your channel his ? If he have power, 

Then vail your ignorance : if none, awake 

Your dangerous lenity : if you are learn'd, 

Be not as common fools ; if you are not, 100 

Let them have cushions by you. You are plebeians, 

If they be senators : and they are no less. 

When, both your voices blended, the great'st taste 

Most palates theirs. They choose their magistrate, 

And such a one as he, who puts his ' shall,' 105 

His popular ' shall,' against a graver bench 

Than ever frown'd in Greece. By Jove himself, 

It makes the consuls base ! and my soul aches 

To know, when two authorities are up, 

Neither supreme, how soon confusion no 

May enter 'twixt the gap of both, and take 

The one by th' other. 

CoMiNius. Well, on to th' market-place. 

CoRiOLANUS. Whoever gave that counsel, to give forth 
The corn o' th' storehouse gratis, as 't was us'd 
Sometime in Greece — 

115. Greece — F3F4 I Greece. F1F2. 

98. vail: lower (in token of submission). Cf. i Heniy VI, V, iii, 25 : 
"France must vail her lofty plumed crest." This word is distinct 
from 'veil.' 

99. Your dangerous lenity : lenity dangerous to you. 

loi. have cushions by you : sit beside you (in the Capitol). 

102-104. and they . . . palates theirs : and they are no less than 
senators when in the blending of your voices and theirs the flavour 
tastes most like theirs. The predominant flavour is plebeian. 

107. Greece. The birthplace of democracy. See note, lines 116-1 18. 

no. confusion : utter ruin. So in line 190. 

III. take : destroy. Cf. IV, iv, 20, 



g6 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iii 

Menenius. Well, well, no more of that. 115 

CoRiOLANUS. Though there the people had more absolute 
power, 
I say, they nourish'd disobedience, fed 
The ruin of the state. 

Brutus. Why, shall the people give 

One that speaks thus their voice .'* 

CoRiOLANUS. I '11 give my reasons, 

More worthier than their voices. They know the corn 120 
Was not our recompense, resting well assur'd 
They ne'er did service for't : being press'd to the war, 
Even when the navel of the state was touch'd. 
They would not thread the gates : this kind of service 
Did not deserve com gratis. Being i' th' war, 125 

Their mutinies and revolts, wherein they show'd 
Most valour, spoke not for them. Th' accusation 
Which they have often made against the senate, 

120. worthier Fi | worthie F2 I worthy F3F4. 

116-118. Though there . . . the state. "They that gave counsel 
and persuaded, that the corn should be given out to the common 
people gratis, as they used to do in the cities of Greece, where the 
people had more absolute power, did but only nourish their disobe- 
dience, which would break out in the end, to the utter ruin and 
overthrow of the whole state." — Plutarch. 

120-128. They know . . . senate. "For they will not think it is 
done in recompence of their service past, sithence they know well 
enough they have so oft refused to go to the wars when they were 
commanded : neither for their mutinies when they went with us, 
whereby they have rebelled and forsaken their country." — Plutarch. 
— more worthier. Double comparatives and superlatives, to give 
emphasis, are common in Shakespeare. See Abbott, § 11. 

124. thread: pass through. Cf. Richard II, V, v, 17 : "To thread 
the postern of a small needle's eye." 



SCENE I CORIOLANUS 97 

All cause unborn, could never be the native 

Of our so frank donation. Well, what then ? 130 

How shall this bosom-multiplied digest 

The senate's courtesy ? Let deeds express 

What 's like to be their words, ' We did request it, 

We are the greater poll, and in true fear 

They gave us our demands.' Thus we debase 135 

The nature of our seats, and make the rabble 

Call our cares fears ; which will in time 

Break ope the locks o' th' senate, and bring in 

The crows to peck the eagles. 

Menenius. Come, enough. 

Brutus. Enough, with over-measure. 

CoRiOLANUs. No, take more. 140 

What may be sworn by, both divine and human, 
Seal what I end withal ! This double worship 

129. native Ff Camb I motive 131. bosom-multiplied Ff | bisson 

Singer Globe. multitude Dyce Globe. 

129. All cause unborn: no cause existing. — native: parent, source. 
' Native ' carries out the figure suggested in ' unborn.' 

131. this bosom-multiplied. Coriolanus again refers to the plebeians 
as the Hydra, line 93. In II, iii, 15, he calls them the 'many-headed,' 
referring to their eating. Here he uses the word 'bosom' as the seat 
of their thoughts and feelings. How, he asks, can the multitude, 
with such feelings against the senate, be made to think that the 
senate is courteous to them.'' For 'bosom' in this sense compare 
A Midsummer Nighfs Dream, I, i, 216; Othello, III, i, 57-58; The 
Merchant of Venice, IV, i, 31. A close parallel to 'this bosom- 
multiplied' is 'the common bosom' {King Lear,N , iii, 49), meaning 
the hearts of the common people. 

132-133. Let their past and present deeds be taken as an indica- 
tion of what they are likely to speak openly. 

134. greater poll : majority. Cf. Ill, iii, 10. 

142. Seal: confirm, attest. — worship: dignity, authority. 



98 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iii 

(Where one part does disdain with cause, the other 

Insult without all reason : where gentry, title, wisdom 

Cannot conclude but by the yea and no 145 

Of general ignorance) it must omit 

Real necessities, and give way the while 

To unstable slightness. Purpose so barr'd, it follows, 

Nothing is done to purpose. Therefore beseech you 

(You that will be less fearful than discreet, 150 

That love the fundamental part of state 

More than you doubt the change on 't ; that prefer 

A noble life before a long, and wish 

To jump a body with a dangerous physic, 

That 's sure of death without it) at once pluck out 155 

The multitudinous tongue ; let them not lick 

The sweet which is their poison. Your dishonour 

Mangles true judgment, and bereaves the state 

Of that integrity which should become 't ; 

Not having the power to do the good it would 160 

For th' ill which doth control 't. 

Brutus. Has said enough. 

143. Where one Rowe Globe De- 144. reason Fi | season F2F3F4. 
lius I Whereon Ff. 152. on 't Fi | oft F2 I oft F3F4. 

144. without : outside, beyond. — gentry : gentle birth. 

145. conclude : come to terms, settle a question. 
152. doubt the change on *t : dread the change of it. 

154. jump: imperil. The 'dangerous physic' which Coriolanus 
contemplates is the abolition of the tribuneship. For 'jump' as a noun 
meaning ' hazard (of battle) ' compare Antony and Cleopatra, III, viii, 6. 

156. The multitudinous tongue. Cf. 'The tongues o' th' common 
mouth,' line 22. The Hydra is still in his mind. See note, line 131. 

156-157. lick The sweet. That is, take part in state affairs. 

159. integrity: entirety. The original (Latin) meaning. The state 
is now divided against itself. 



SCENE I CORIOLANUS 99 

SiciNius. Has spoken like a traitor, and shall answer 
As traitors do. 

CoRiOLANUS. Thou wretch, despite o'erwhelm thee ! 
What should the people do with these bald tribunes ? 165 
On whom depending, their obedience fails 
To th' greater bench : in a rebellion, 
When what 's not meet, but what must be, was law, 
Then were they chosen : in a better hour, 
Let what is meet be said it must be meet, 170 

And throw their power i' th' dust. 

Brutus. Manifest treason ! 

SiciNius. This a consul ? no. 

Enter an ^dile 

Brutus. The aediles, ho ! let him be apprehended. 

SiciNius. Go call the people : \Exit ^dile.] in whose 
name myself 
Attach thee as a traitorous innovator, 175 

A foe to th' public weal. Obey, I charge thee, 
And follow to thine answer. 

174. lExit ^dile.] Collier | Ff omit. 

165. bald: senseless. Cf. / Henry IV^ I, iii, 65: "bald, unjointed 
chat." Verity suggests ' in their dotage ' as the meaning. 

167-168. The punctuation of the Folios is " To' th' greater Bench, 
in a Rebellion : When what's not meet, but ..." 

173. aediles : police. These magistrates originally had charge of 
public buildings, and hence the name, from aedes, 'house.' 

174. Go call. The Folios do not place a comma after 'go,' as is 
usually done in modern editions. In the Elizabethan period 'go' 
and 'come' still took the simple infinitive (without 'to') to express 
purpose, where to-day we may still use the infinitive with 'to,' but 
prefer 'and' with a coordinate verb. Cf. line 225. 



lOO THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iii 

CoRiOLANUs. Hence, old goat ! 

Senators, etc. We '11 surety him. 
CoMiNius. Ag'd sir, hands off. 

CORIOLANUS. Hence, rotten thing ! or I shall shake thy 
bones 
Out of thy garments. 

SiciNius. Help, ye citizens ! i8o 

Enter a rabble of Citizens, tvith the ^diles 

Menenius. On both sides more respect. 

SiciNius. Here 's he that would take from you all your 
power. 

Brutus. Seize him, aediles I 

Citizens. Down with him ! down with him ! 

Senators, etc. Weapons, weapons, weapons ! 185 

\They all bustle about Coriolanus] 
' Tribunes ! ' * Patricians ! ' ' Citizens ! ' ' what, ho ! ' 
* Sicinius 1 ' ' Brutus ! ' ^ Coriolanus ! ' ' Citizens ! ' 

Citizens. Peace, peace, peace ! stay, hold, peace ! 

Menenius. What is about to be ? I am out of breath. 
Confusion 's near. I cannot speak. You, tribunes 190 

To th' people ! Coriolanus, patience ! 
Speak, good Sicinius. 

Sicinius. Hear me, people ; peace ! 

Citizens. Let 's hear our tribune : peace ! speak, speak, 
speak ! 

178. Senators, etc, I All Ff. 184,188, 193, etc. CitizensI All Ff. 

181. Enter... Citizens . . . ^dilesl 185. Senators, etc. I 2 Sen. Ff. 
Enter . . . Plebeians . . . iEdiles Ff . — 190. Confusion 's near F3F4 I Con- 
Scene II Pope. fusions neere Fi. 

190. Confusion : ruin. Cf. line no. — You : you speak. Some editors 
read " You, tribunes, Speak ..." 



SCENE I CORIOLANUS ; lOI 

SiciNius. You are at point to lose your liberties : 
Martius would have all from you ; Martius, 195 

Whom late you have nam'd for consul. 

Menenius. Fie, fie, fie ! 

This is the way to kindle, not to quench. 

I Senator, To unbuild the city, and to lay all fiat. 

SiciNius. What is the city but the people ? 

Citizens. True, 

The people are the city. 200 

Brutus. By the consent of all, we were establish'd 
The people's magistrates. 

Citizens. You so remain. 

Menenius. And so are like to do. 

CoMiNius. That is the way to lay the city flat, 
To bring the roof to the foundation, 205 

And bury all, which yet distinctly ranges, 
In heaps and piles of ruin. 

SiciNius. This deserves death. 

Brutus. Or let us stand to our authority. 
Or let us lose it : we do here pronounce. 
Upon the part o' th' people, in whose power 210 

We were elected theirs, Martius is worthy 
Of present death. 

SiciNius. Therefore lay hold of him : 

198. I Senator I Sena. Ff. 

206. distinctly ranges : stand distinct and in order. 

207. This. The reference is to the attack made by Coriolanus on 
the liberties of the people. Pope and some modern editors give this 
speech to Coriolanus, but, as Keightley says, he " is standing apart, 
in proud and sullen rage." 

212. present : immediate. As in III, iii, 21 ; IV, iii, 42. Often so. 
Cf. 'presently,' III, iii, 12; IV,. v, 214. 



I02 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iii 

Bear him to th' rock Tarpeian, and from thence 
Into destruction cast him. 

Brutus. ^diles, seize him ! 

Citizens.' Yield, Martins, yield! 

Menenius. Hear me one word : 215 

Beseech you, tribunes, hear me but a word. 

^DiLES. Peace, peace ! 

Menenius. [To Brutus] Be that you seem, truly your 
country's friend. 
And temp'rately proceed to what you would 
Thus violently redress. 

Brutus. Sir, those cold ways, 220 

That seem like prudent helps, are very poisonous. 
Where the disease is violent. Lay hands upon him, 
And bear him to the rock. 

[CoRiOLANUS draws his sword] 

CoRiOLANUS. No, I '11 die here : 

There 's some among you have beheld me fighting : 
Come try upon yourselves what you have seen me. 225 

Menenius. Down with that sword ! Tribunes, withdraw 
awhile. 

215. Citizens I Cit, Capell | All 218. [Tc? Brutus] Camb I Ff omit. 

Pie. Ff. — friend Ff | friends Rowe. 

213-214. "Whereupon Sicinius, the cruellest and stoutest of the 
Tribunes, after he had whispered a little with his companions, did 
openly pronounce, in the face of all the people, Martins as con- 
demned by the Tribunes to die. Then presently he commanded 
the ^diles to apprehend him, and carry him straight to the rock 
Tarpeian, and to cast him headlong down the same." — Plutarch. 

216,236. Beseech. The subject 'I' before 'beseech' and 'pray' is 
frequently omitted. Cf. IV, v, 22. 

225. Come try. Cf. 'Go call,' line 174, and see note. 



SCENE I CORIOLANUS 103 

Brutus. Lay hands upon him. 

Menenius. Help Martius, help : 

You that be noble, help him, young and old ! 

Citizens. Down with him, down with him ! 229 

\In this mutiny, the Tribunes, the ^diles, and the 

People are beat iii\ 

Menenius. Go, get you to your house : be gone, away ! 
All will be naught else. 

2 Senator. Get you gone. 

CoMiNius. Stand fast ; 

We have as many friends as enemies. 

Menenius. Shall it be put to that ? 

I Senator. The gods forbid ! 

I prithee, noble friend, home to thy house ; 
Leave us to cure this cause. 

Menenius. For 't is a sore upon us, 235 

You cannot tent yourself : be gone, beseech you. 

CoMiNius. Come, sir, along with us. 

Coriolanus. I would they were barbarians, as they are 

229. him! I him. Exeunt Ff. Corio. Fi. 

230. your Rowe Camb Globe | 238-242. Coriolanus. I . . . Cap- 
our Ff. itol . . . Menenius. Be gone . . . an- 

233. I Senator | Sena. Ff. other Steevens | Me?ie. I . . . Capitoll : 

237. CoMiNius I Com. F2F3F4 I Be gone . . . another Ff. 

227. Help Martius, help. " The noblemen, being much troubled to 
see so much force and rigour used, began to cry aloud ' Help Mar- 
tius': so those that laid hands on him being repulsed, they com- 
passed him in round among themselves, and some of them, holding 
up their hands to the people, besought them not to handle him thus 
cruelly." — Plutarch. 

236. tent: probe. See note, I, ix, 31. 

238-240. I would . . . th' Capitol. As the textual notes show, the 
Folios give this speech to Menenius. Steevens, following Tyrwhitt's 
conjecture, transferred it to Coriolanus. 



I04 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iii 

Though in Rome litter'd : not Romans, as they are not, 
Though calved i' th' porch o' th' Capitol. 

Menenius. Be gone; 240 

Put not your worthy rage into your tongue ; 
One time will owe another. 

CoRiOLANUS. On fair ground 

I could beat forty of them. 

Menenius. I could myself 

Take up a brace o' th' best of them ; yea, the two tribunes. 

CoMiNius. But now 't is odds beyond arithmetic, 245 

And manhood is call'd foolery, when it stands 
Against a falling fabric. Will you hence, 
Before the tag return ? whose rage doth rend 
Like interrupted waters, and o'erbear 
What they are us'd to bear. 

Menenius. Pray you, be gone : 250 

I '11 try whether my old wit be in request 

242. CoRiOLANUS I Corio. Fi I Com. F2F3F4. 

242. One time will owe another : one time will have its debt to pay 
to another; "whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" 
( Galatians, vi, 7) ; " they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the 
whirlwind" {Hosea, viii, 7). Coriolanus is urged to curb his wrath, 
and these words are added as a warning rather than as a promise 
of future victory. Venting his rage will only add fuel to the flame of 
feeling already kindled against him. This is supported by Menenius's 
words in lines 256-260. 

243. forty. Used indefinitely to express a large number. Com- 
monly so in the Bible. Cf. Genesis, vii, 4 ; Exodus, xvi, 35 ; xxiv, 18. 

248. tag : rabble, tag and rag. ' Tag ' meant originally " one of 
the narrow . . . pendent pieces made by slashing the skirt of a gar- 
ment; hence, any hanging, ragged or torn piece." — Murray. Cf. 
'fragments,' I, i, 217, and see note. 

251. " Menenius' ' old wit ' has been matched against the people 
and their tribunes before . . . without any marked success." — Chambers. 



SCENE I CORIOLANUS 105 

With those that have but little : this must be patch'd 
With cloth of any colour. 

CoMiNius. Nay, come away. 

\Exemit CoRiOLANus, Cominius, and others] 

A Patrician. This man has marr'd his fortune. 

Menenius. His nature is too noble for the world : 255 
He would not flatter Neptune for his trident, 
Or Jove for 's power to thunder : his heart 's his mouth : 
What his breast forges, that his tongue must vent, 
And, being angry, does forget that ever 
He heard the name of death. [A noise within] 260 

Here 's goodly work ! 

A Patrician. I would they were a-bed ! 

Menenius. I would they were in Tiber 1 What the 
vengeance ! 
Could he not speak 'em fair ? 

Re-enter Brutus and Sicinius, with the rabble 

SiciNius. Where is this viper, 

That would depopulate the city, and 
Be every man himself .-* 

Menenius. You worthy tribunes — 265 

SiciNius. He shall be thrown down the Tarpeian rock 
With rigorous hands : he hath resisted law. 
And therefore law shall scorn him further trial 
Than the severity of the public power, 
Which he so sets at nought. 

I Citizen. He shall well know 270 

253. [. , . Cominius, and others] 261. A Patrician | Patri. Ff | 2. 
Capell I and Cominius Ff. P. Capell. 

254. Scene IV Pope. — A Patri- 263. Re-enter . . . rabble \ Enter 
CI AN I Patri. Ff I I. P. Capell. . . . rabble againe Ff. 



I06 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iii 

The noble tribunes are the people's mouths, 
And we their hands. 

Citizens. He shall, sure on 't. 

Menenius. Sir, sir — '■ 

SiciNius. Peace ! 

Menenius. Do not cry havoc, where you should but hunt 
With modest warrant. 

SiciNius. Sir, how comes 't that you 275 

Have holp to make this rescue ? 

Menenius. Hear me speak ? 

As I do know the consul's worthiness, 
So can I name his faults — 

SiciNius. Consul .'' what consul ? 

Menenius. The consul Coriolanus. 

Brutus. He consul ! 

Citizens. No, no, no, no, no. 280 

Menenius. If, by the tribunes' leave, and yours, good 
people, 
I may be heard, I would crave a word or two ; 
The which shall turn you to no further harm 
Than so much loss of time. 

SiciNius. Speak briefly, then ; 

272. shall, sure on 't | shall sure be sure on 't Pope, 
ont Fi I shall sure out F2F3F4 I shall 272, 280. Citizens | All Ff. 

274-275. havoc. The phrase 'cry havoc' (Old French crier havot) 
meant originally "to give to an army the order havoc !, as the signal 
for the seizure of spoil, and so of general spoliation or pillage." — 
Murray. Ci. Julius Ccesar, III, i, 273; King Johri, II, i, 357. — hunt 
With modest warrant. It was a high crime for anybody to give the 
signal (' havoc ! ') without authority from the general in chief. 

276. Hear me speak ? will you hear me speak ? The punctuation is 
that of the Folios. Most editors change the question to an imperative. 



SCENE I CORIOLANUS lO/ 

For we are peremptory to dispatch 285 

This viperous traitor : to eject him hence 
Were but one danger, and to keep him here 
Our certain death : therefore it is decreed 
He dies to-night. 

Menenius. Now the good gods forbid 
That our renowned Rome, whose gratitude 290 

Towards her deserved children is enroll'd 
In Jove's own book, like an unnatural dam 
Should now eat up her own ! 

SiciNius. He 's a disease that must be cut away. 

Menenius. O, he 's a limb, that has but a disease ; 295 
Mortal, to cut it off ; to cure it, easy. 
What has he done to Rome that 's worthy death ? 
Killing our enemies, the blood he hath lost 
(Which, I dare vouch, is more than that he hath 
By many an ounce) he dropp'd it for his country : 300 

And what is left, to lose it by his country 
Were to us all that do 't and suffer it, 
A brand to th' end o' th' world. 

SiciNius. This is clean kam. 

286. viperous F4 I Viparous F1F2F3. 303. kam F4 I kamme F1F2 I 
301. lose F3F4 I loose F1F2. kamm F3. 

287. but one danger : nothing but a continual source of danger. 
Editors have apparently overlooked the significance of 'but.' Theo- 
bald changed ' one ' to ' our ' ; the Cambridge editors suggest reading 
'but moe danger.' 

291. deserved: deserving. See Abbott, §§372-374. 

292. Jove's own book : the book of life. " A Jewish not a Roman 
idea." — Herford. Ci. Malachi, iii, 16; Revelation, xx, 12. 

303. clean kam: all wrong. 'Kam,' or 'cam,' is a Welsh word, 
meaning 'crooked.' Cf. Cotgrave's Dictionarie {161 1) : ^^ cojttrepoil, 
against the wooll, the wrong way, cleane contrarie, quite kamme." 



I08 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iti 

Brutus. Merely awry : when he did love his country, 
It honour'd him. 

Menenius. The service of the foot, 305 

Being once gangren'd, is not then respected 
For what before it was. 

Brutus. We '11 hear no more : 

Pursue him to his house, and pluck him thence. 
Lest his infection, being of catching nature. 
Spread further. 

Menenius. One word more, one word : 310 

This tiger-footed rage, when it shall find 
The harm of unscann'd swiftness, will, too late. 
Tie leaden pounds to 's heels. Proceed by process. 
Lest parties (as he is belov'd) break out, 
And sack great Rome with Romans. 

Brutus. If it were so — 315 

SiciNius. What do ye talk ? 
Have we not had a taste of his obedience ? 
Our aediles smote ? ourselves resisted ? come. 

Menenius. Consider this : he has been bred i' th' wars 
Since he could draw a sword, and is ill-school'd 320 

315. so — F3F4 I so ? F1F2. Fi I smot ; F2 | smot, F3 I smote, F4. 

318. smote ? I smot ? Capell | smot : 320. he Rowe I a Ff. 

304. Merely: entirely, absolutely. Cf. Richm'd II, II, i, 243. 

305-307. The service ... it was. The Folios give this speech to 
Menenius ; Hanmer, following Warburton, transferred it to Sicinius ; 
Lettsom continued it to Brutus. It would be dramatically untrue to 
put into the mouth of either tribune an argument so palpably unjust. 
Menenius is to be understood as urging the logical consequences of 
the tribune's position, by way of refuting it. 

309. his infection : the infection of his evil qualities. 

313. to 's : to his, to its. ' Its ' was just coming into use in Shake- 
speare's day. See Abbott, § 228. 



SCENE I CORIOLANUS 109 

In bolted language : meal and bran together 
He throws without distinction. Give me leave, 
I '11 go to him, and undertake to bring him 
Where he shall answer by a lawful form 
(In peace) to his utmost peril. 

I Senator. Noble tribunes, 325 

It is the humane way : the other course 
Will prove too bloody ; and the end of it 
Unknown to the beginning. 

SiciNius. Noble Menenius, 

Be you then as the people's officer : 
Masters, lay down your weapons. 

Brutus. Go not home. 330 

SiciNius. Meet on the market-place : we '11 attend you 
there : 
Where, if you bring not Martins, we '11 proceed 
In our first way. 

Menenius. I '11 bring him to you. 
[To the Senators] Let me desire your company : he must 

come, 
Or what is worst will follow. 

I Senator. Pray you let 's to him. 

[Exeunt] 335 

323. bring him Pope | bring him Ff omit, 
in peace Ff. 335. i Senator | Sena. Ff. — 

334. [To the Senators] Hanmer | [^Exeunt] Exeunt Omnes Ff. 

321. bolted : sifted, refined. The metaphor is found in Henry V, 
II, ii, 137: "Such and so finely bolted didst thou seem." — meal 
and bran. Cf. I, i, 140-141. 

323. The Folios add ' in peace ' (see textual notes), but the words 
were obviously caught up by a compositor's error from line 325. 

324-325. answer ... to his utmost peril : answer . . . even to the 
cost of his life. Cf. i Henry VI, III, iv, 43 : " I 'H meet thee to thy cost." 



no THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iii 

Scene II. A room in Coriolanus's house 

Enter Coriolanus with Nobles 

CoRiOLANUS. Let them pull all about mine eajrs ; present me 
Death on the wheel, or at wild horses' heels ; 
Or pile ten hills on the Tarpeian rock, 
That the precipitation might down stretch 
Below the beam of sight ; yet will I still 5 

Be thus to them. 

Eiiter VoLUMNiA 

A Noble. You do the nobler. 

Coriolanus. I muse my mother 
Does not approve me further, who was wont 
To call them woollen vassals, things created 
To buy and sell with groats, to show bare heads 10 

In congregations, to yawn, be still and wonder, 
When one but of my ordinance stood up 

Scene II Capell I Scene V Pope | | Ff omit. 
Ff omit. — A roojn . . . house Malone 9. woollen Rowe | Wollen Ff. 

2. Shakespeare may have been thinking of his own time, but he 
was evidently acquainted with the classics. Punishment on the wheel 
is suggested in the Greek myth of Ixion, although apparently not 
used in ancient Rome. Tullus Hostilius had Metius Suffetius torn 
to pieces by horses {yEneid, VIII, 642), which Livy informs us was 
the only instance of such punishment in Roman history down to the 
end of the Republic. 

5. beam of sight : range of vision. 

9. woollen vassals. A similar contemptuous reference to the 
coarse clothing of the working classes is in A Midsummer Nighi^s 
Dream, III, i, 79. The expression may also imply that the men are 
loafers and unfit for war. 

12. ordinance: order, rank. From the sense of 'orderly arrangement.' 



SCENE II CORIOLANUS 1 1 1 

To speak of peace or war. 

[To Volumnia] I talk of you : 
Why did you wish me milder ? would you have me 
False to my nature? Rather say, I play 15 

The man I am. 

Volumnia. O, sir, sir, sir, 
I would have had you put your power well on, 
Before you had worn it out. 

CORIOLANUS. Let go. 

Volumnia. You might have been enough the man you are. 
With striving less to be so : lesser had been 20 

The thwartings of your dispositions, if 
You had not show'd them how ye were dispos'd, 
Ere they lack'd power to cross you. 

CORIOLANUS. Let them hang. 

Volumnia. Ay, and burn too. 

Enter Menenius with the Senators 

Menenius, Come, come, you have been too rough, some- 
thing too rough : 25 
You must return and mend it. 

I Senator. There 's no remedy ; 

13. \To Volumnia] Ff omit. 24. Volumnia | Volum. Ff I A 

18. Let F1F2 I Lets F3 I Let 's F4. Patrician Globe. 
21. thwartings of Theobald 1 26. i Senator | i. S. Capell I 

things of Ff. Sen. Ff. 

18. Let go : enough, let us have done with it. 
21. thwartings. This, Theobald's emendation, is supported by the 
context and particularly by ' cross ' in line 23. 

23. Ere . . . power: while they still had it in their power. 

24. Some editors give this speech to a Patrician, but Volumnia 
agrees with her son here to remind him that she feels as he does, 
and hereby she reveals the wisdom of her advice. 



112 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iii 

Unless, by not so doing, our good city 
Cleave in the midst, and perish. 

VoLUMNiA. Pray, be counsell'd : 

I have a heart as little apt as yours. 

But yet a brain that leads my use of anger 30 

To better vantage. 

Menenius. Well said, noble woman ! 

Before he should thus stoop to th' herd, but that 
The violent fit o' th' time craves it as physic 
For the whole state, I would put mine armour on, 
Which I can scarcely bear. 

CoRiOLANUS. What must I do ? 35 

Menenius. Return to th' tribunes. 

CoRiOLANUS. Well, what then .? what then ? 

Menenius. Repent what you have spoke. 

CORIOLANUS. For them ? I cannot do it to the gods : 
Must I then do 't to them .? 

Volumnia. You are too absolute ; 

Though therein you can never be too noble, 40 

But when extremities speak. I have heard you say, 
Honour and policy, like unsever'd friends, 
I' th' war do grow together: grant that, and tell me. 
In peace what each of them by th' other lose. 
That they combine not there. 

CORIOLANUS. Tush, tush ! 

32. herd Theobald | heart Ff. 44- lose F3F4 I loose F1F2. 

38. them? F3F4 I them, F1F2. 45- there. Steevens | there? Ff. 

29. little apt : little pliable. In earlier editions of Hudson's Shake- 
speare Daniel's conjecture of ' tickle-apt ' was adopted. Other emen- 
dations suggested are 'little soft' (Singer), 'mettle apt' (Staunton), 
and 'little warp'd ' (Bulloch). 

39. absolute : positive, uncompromising. Cf. Ill, i, 90. 



SCENE II CORIOLANUS II3 

Menenius. a good demand. 

VoLUMNiA. If it be honour in your wars to seem 46 

The same you are not (which, for your best ends, 
You adopt your policy) how is it less or worse 
That it shall hold companionship in peace 
With honour, as in war, since that to both 50 

It stands in like request ? 

CoRiOLANUS. Why force you this ? 

VoLUMNiA. Because that now it lies you on to speak 
To th' people; not by your own instruction. 
Nor by th' matter which your heart prompts you, 
But with such words that are but roted in 55 

Your tongue, though but bastards and syllables 
Of no allowance to your bosom's truth. 
Now, this no more dishonours you at all 
Than to take in a town with gentle words, 
Which else would put you to your fortune, and 60 

The hazard of much blood. 
I would dissemble with my nature, where 

48. adopt F1F2F3 I adapt F4 I call Ff | roated on Hanmer | rooted in 
Pope. — is it Ff I is 't Pope. Johnson. 

55. roted in Malone | roated in 57. allowance Ff | alliance Capell. 

52. it lies you on : it is incumbent on you. 

55. roted : learned by rote (and so spoken mechanically). 

56. though but bastards and. Ingenious attempts have been made 
to emend this line. In earlier editions of Hudson's Shakespeare 
Badham's conjecture "thought's bastards, and but" was adopted. 

57. Of no allowance to : utterly disavowed by. " Truth sits en- 
throned on your bosom to sanction your thoughts and language ; 
but your words will be but illegitimate offspring, not born of your 
heart, having no approval as justification from that truth." — Crosby. 

59. take in : capture, subdue. See note, I, ii, 24. 

60. put you to your fortune : cause you to risk the fortunes of war. 
With 'to your fortune' compare 'to his utmost peril,' III, i, 325. 



114 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iii 

My fortunes and my friends at stake requir'd 

I should do so in honour. I am in this 

Your wife, your son : these senators, the nobles, 65 

And you, will rather show our general louts, 

How you can frown than spend a fawn upon 'em. 

For the inheritance of their loves, and safeguard 

Of what that want might ruin. 

Menenius. Noble lady ! 

Come go with us ; speak fair : you may salve so, 70 

Not what is dangerous present, but the loss 
Of what is past. 

VoLUMNiA. I prithee now, my son, 
Go to them, with this bonnet in thy hand ; 
And thus far having stretch'd it (here be with them) 
Thy knee bussing the stones (for in such business 75 

Action is eloquence, and the eyes of th' ignorant 
More learned than the ears) waving thy head, 

64-65. I am in this Your wife, your son. Cf. Matthew, xii, 47-50. 

65-66. The punctuation is that of the Folios. Most editors read, 
" Your wife, your son, these senators, the nobles ; And you will," etc. 
These changes are unnecessary and involve an awkward anti-climax. 

66. general louts: common bumpkins. Cf. 'general filths,' Timon 
of Athens, IV, i, 6; 'the general ear,' Hamlet, II, ii, 589. 

69. that want ; the want of that (' the inheritance of their loves '). 

70-72. you may ... is past : in this way you cannot only cure 
what is dangerous in the present, but retrieve what is lost. 

73. this bonnet. Volumnia touches or points to his bonnet. The 
'bonnet' was a soft hat without brim. 

74. thus far. Volumnia bends to the ground. Her gestures and 
choice of words throughout the speech show Coriolanus how she 
despises the course of action she counsels him to follow. — here be 
with them : humour them in this. 

77-78. The waving of the head indicates humility, and thus often 
corrects the proud heart, which holds the head aloft. ' Which ' refers 



SCENE II CORIOLANUS II5 

Which often, thus, correcting thy stout heart, 

Now humble as the ripest mulberry. 

That will not hold the handling : or say to them, 80 

Thou art their soldier, and being bred in broils 

Hast not the soft way which, thou dost confess, 

Were fit for thee to use, as they to claim. 

In asking their good loves ; but thou wilt frame 

Thyself, forsooth, hereafter theirs, so far 85 

As thou hast power and person. 

Menenius. This but done. 

Even as she speaks, why, their hearts were yours ; 
For they have pardons, being ask'd, as free 
As words to little purpose. 

VoLUMNiA. Prithee now, 

Go, and be rul'd : although I know thou hadst rather 90 
Follow thine enemy in a fiery gulf 
Than flatter him in a bower. 

Enter Cominius 

Here is Cominius. 
Cominius. I have been i' th' market-place ; and, sir, 't is fit 

to 'waving thy head,' and is in the nominative absolute, a common 
construction in the Elizabethan period. See Abbott, § 376. 

78. thy stout heart. " A stout man of nature." — Plutarch. 

79. Now humble : now made humble. In earlier editions of Hud- 
son's Shakespeare Mason's substitution of ' bow ' for ' now ' was 
adopted. 

83. Were fit ... to claim : were as fit for thee to use as for them 
to claim. Cf. lines 124-125. For 'they' see Abbott, § 216. 

85. forsooth : in very truth. This is the literal meaning. 

88-89. they have . . . little purpose : to win their pardons costs no 
more than to speak idle words to them. 

91. in: into. See note, I, ii, 2. — gulf: whirlpool. Cf. I, i, 93. 



Il6 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iii 

You make strong party, or defend yourself 

By calmness or by absence : all 's in anger. 95 

Menenius, Only fair speech, 

CoMiNius. I think 't will serve, if he 

Can thereto frame his spirit. 

VoLUMNiA. He must, and will : 

Prithee now, say you will, and go about it. 

CoRiOLANUS. Must I go show them my unbarb'd sconce ? 
Must I with my base tongue give to my noble heart 100 

A lie that it must bear well ? I will do 't : 
Yet, were there but this single plot to lose. 
This mould of Martins, they to dust should grind it. 
And throw 't against the wind. To th' market-place ! 
You have put me now to such a part, which never 105 

I shall discharge to th' life. 

CoMiNius. Come, come, we '11 prompt you. 

VoLUMNiA. I prithee now, sweet son, as thou hast said 

99. unbarb'd Ff | unbarbed Rowe. 102. plot to lose, Theobald | plot, 

loi. bear well? Ff | bear? Well, to loose F1F2 I plot, to lose F3F4 I 
Pope Globe Camb Delius. pelt to lose Hanmer. 

99-100. The arrangement is that of the Folios, where line 100 is 
a typical Alexandrine. The Globe arrangement of this line is, 
" Must I with base tongue give my noble heart." — unbarb'd sconce : 
uncovered head. A 'barb' (corrupted from 'bard,' see Murray) was 
properly a protective covering for the breast and flanks of a war 
horse. 'Sconce' is a jocular term for 'head.' Both words are used 
here in a contemptuous sense. 

101. bear well ? I. The punctuation is that of the Folios ; Pope's 
arrangement (see textual variants), followed in most editions, gives 
a more commonplace meaning. 

102. plot : piece of earth, person. The ordinary interpretation of 
a puzzling expression. The punctuation of the Folios may be cor- 
rect, and ' plot ' be read in its ordinary sense, and the ' loose ' of the 
First and Second Folios be interpreted in the old sense of ' break up.' 



SCENE II CORlbLANUS 117 

My praises made thee first a soldier, so, 
To have my praise for this, perform a part 
Thou hast not done before. 

CoRiOLANUS. Well, I must do't: no 

Away, my disposition, and possess me 
Some harlot's spirit ! my throat of war be turn'd, 
Which quier'd with my drum, into a pipe, 
Small as an eunuch, or the virgin voice 
That babies lull asleep ! the smiles of knaves 1 1 5 

Tent in my cheeks, and schoolboys' tears take up 
The glasses of my sight ! a beggar's tongue 
Make motion through my lips, and my arm'd knees, 
Who bow'd but in my stirrup, bend like his 
That hath receiv'd an alms ! I will not do 't; 120 

Lest I surcease to honour mine own truth, 
And by my body's action teach my mind 
A most inherent baseness. 

VoLUMNiA. At thy choice then : 

To beg of thee, it is my more dishonour 
Than thou of them. Come all to ruin : let 125 

Thy mother rather feel thy pride than fear 
Thy dangerous stoutness ; for I mock at death 

113. quier'd Ff | quired Camb 115. lull Ff I lulls Rowe Globe. 
Globe. — drum, | drumme Ff. 119. stirrup | Stirrop Ff. 

114. eunuch : eunuch's. — virgin voice. Cf. Twelfth Night, I, iv, 
32-34 : " thy small pipe Is as the maiden's organ, shrill and sound." 

115. lull : lulls. For this 'confusion of proximity,' see Abbott, §412. 
119. Who. The antecedent is implied in 'my' (line 118). 

123. inherent : clinging. The original (Latin) meaning. 

125. Than thou of them : than for thee (to beg) of them. 

126. feel thy pride : suffer all that thy pride can cause. 

127. stoutness: obstinacy. AsinV,vi, 27. Cf.' stout heart,' III, ii,78. 



Il8 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iii 

With as big heart as thou. Do as thou Hst. 

Thy valiantness was mine, thou suck'st it from me : 

But owe thy pride thyself. 

CoRiOLANUs. Pray, be content : 130 

Mother, I am going to the market-place : 
Chide me no more. I '11 mountebank their loves. 
Cog their hearts from them, and come home belov'd 
Of all the trades in Rome. Look, I am going : 
Commend me to my wife. I '11 return consul, 135 

Or never trust to what my tongue can do 
I' th' way of flattery further. 

VoLUMNiA. Do your will. \_Exit\ 

CoMiNius. Away ! the tribunes do attend you : arm 
yourself 
To answer mildly ; for they are prepar'd 
With accusations, as I hear, more strong 140 

Than are upon you yet. 

CoRiOLANUS. The word is, ' mildly.' Pray you, let us go : 
Let them accuse me by invention, I 
Will answer in mine honour. 

Menenius. Ay, but mildly. 

CoRiOLANUS. Well, mildly be it then : mildly ! 145 

\Exeunt\ 

129. suck'st Ff I suck'dst Rowe. 131. I am Ff I I 'm Pope. 

130. owe Fi I owne F2 I own F3F4. 137. \Exit\ Exit Volumnia Ff . 

129. " So Cassius in/ulms Ccesar, IV, iii, 120, attributes his hasty 
temper to his mother. And the influence of the mother in the 
formation of the child's character is again referred to in Macbeth^ 
I, vii, 72-74." — Clar. 

130. owe : own. As in V, ii, 77 ; V, vi, 138. Often so. 

133. Cog : " deceive, especially by smooth lies." — Schmidt. 
138. attend : await. Cf. I, x, 30. 



SCENE III CORIOLANUS 1 19 

Scene III. The same. The Forum 

Enter Sicinius and Brutus 

Brutus. In this point charge him home, that he affects 
Tyrannical power : if he evade us there, 
Enforce him with his envy to the people ; 
And that the spoil got on the Antiates 
Was ne'er distributed. What, will he come ? 5 

Enter an ^dile 

tEdile. He 's coming. 

Brutus. . How accompanied ? 

^DiLE. With old Menenius, and those senators 
That always favour'd him. 

Sicinius. Have you a catalogue 

Of all the voices that we have procur'd 
Set down by th' poll ? 

^DiLE. I have : 't is ready. 10 

Sicinius. Have you collected them by tribes ? 

^DiLE. I have. 

Scene III CapelllScene VI Pope 9-10. Of . . . poll I one line in Ff. 

I Ff omit. — The same. The Forum \ 11. I have Fi | I have : 'tia ready 

The Forum Pope | Ff omit. F2F3F4. 

3. Enforce: press, ply. Cf. line 21 ; II, iii, 214. Cf. ' force,' III, 
ii, 51. — envy: hatred, malice. Often so. 

4. on: of. Cf. 'on't,' I, i, 12. 'Of and 'on' are frequently inter- 
changed. See Abbott, §§ 175-182. 

5. What, will he come ? Addressed to the ^dile, whom he sees 
approaching. 

10. by th* poll. Either 'singly,' or 'according to the .register.' 

11. tribes. Political divisions of the Roman people, originally 
three in number, finally increased to thirty-five. 



I20 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iii 

SiciNius. Assemble presently the people hither : 
And when they hear me say, ' It shall be so, 
I' th' right and strength o' th' commons,' be it either 
For death, for fine, or banishment, then let them, 15 

If I say fine, cry ^ Fine ' ; if death, cry ' Death,' 
Insisting on the old prerogative 
And power i' th' truth o' th' cause. 

^DiLE. I shall inform them. 

Brutus. And when such time they have begun to cry. 
Let them not cease, but with a din confus'd 20 

Enforce the present execution 
Of what we chance to sentence. 

^DiLE. Very well. 

SiciNius. Make them be strong, and ready for this hint, 
When we shall hap to give 't them. 

Brutus. Go about it. \Exit ^dile] 

Put him to choler straight : he hath been us'd 25 

24. \Exit ^dile] Pope | Ff omit. 

12. presently : immediately. Cf. II, iii, 248. 

14. either. For the use of ' either ' when more than two things 
are discriminated, ci. Measure for Measure, III, ii, 149. 

14-18. th' right and strength 0' th' commons . . . the old prerogative 
And power. "And first of all the Tribunes would in any case (what- 
soever became of it) that the people should proceed to give their 
voices by Tribes, and not by hundreds : for by this means the multi- 
tude of the poor needy people (and all such rabble as had nothing 
to lose, and had less regard of honesty before their eyes) came to 
be of greater force (because their voices were numbered by the poll) 
than the noble honest citizens, whose persons and purse did dutifully 
serve the commonwealth in their wars." — Plutarch. 

18. i* th' truth 0' th' : according to justice, righteousness, of their 
case. 

21. Enforce: press, demand. Cf. II, iii, 214. — present: immediate. 



SCENE III CORIOLANUS 121 

Ever to conquer, and to have his worth 
Of contradiction. Being once chaf'd, he cannot 
Be rein'd again to temperance ; then he speaks 
What 's in his heart ; and that is there which looks 
With us to break his neck. 

Enter Coriolanus, Menenius, and Cominius, with 
Senators and Patricians 

SiciNius. Well, here he comes. 30 

Menenius. Calmly, I do beseech you. 

Coriolanus. Ay, as an ostler, that foi* th' poorest piece 
Will bear the knave by th' volume : th' honour'd gods 
Keep Rome in safety, and the chairs of justice 
Supplied with worthy men ! plant love among 's ! 35 

Throng our large temples with the shows of peace. 
And not our streets with war ! 

I Senator. Amen, amen. 

. Menenius. A noble wish. 

Re-enter M.TiYL.^^ with Citizens 

Sicinius. Draw near, ye people. 39 

^DiLE. List to your tribunes. Audience ! peace, I say ! 

30. Enter Coriolanus . . . -with 35. among 's! Dyce | amongs Fi | 

Senators and Patricians Capell | En- amongst you, F2F3F4. 

ter Coriolanus. . . with others Ff. 36. Throng Theobald] Through Ff. 

32. ostler Hanmer | hostler Ff. — 39. Re-e7tter . . . Citizens | Enter 

for th' F2 I fourth Fi I for the F3F4. the . . . the Plebeians Ff. 

26. worth ; full share. Coriolanus is accustomed to contradict 
rather than to give assent. 

29-30. and that ... his neck : and in his heart is that which 
promises, with our assistance, to break his neck. 

32. th* poorest piece : the smallest piece of money. 

33. bear the knave ; will allow himself to be called knave. 



122 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iii 

CoRiOLANUS. First, hear me speak. 

Both Tribunes. Well, say. Peace, ho ! 

CoRiOLANUS. Shall I be charg'd no further than this 
present ? 
Must all determine here ? 

SiciNius. I do demand, 

If you submit you to the people's voices. 
Allow their officers, and are content 45 

To suffer lawful censure for such faults 
As shall be prov'd upon you. 

CORIOLANUS. I am content. 

Menenius. Lo, citizens, he says he is content. 
The warlike service he has done, consider ; think 
Upon the wounds his body bears, which show 50 

Like graves i' th' holy churchyard. 

CoRiOLANUs. Scratches with briers, 

Scars to move laughter only. 

Menenius. Consider further, 

That when he speaks not like a citizen. 
You find him like a soldier : do not take 
His rougher accents for malicious sounds, 55 

But, as I say, such as become a soldier. 
Rather than envy you. 

47. you. F1F2F3 1 you ? F4. 55. accents Pope | Actions Ff . 

43. determine: terminate, come to an end. So in V, iii, 120. — 
demand : ask. The common meaning in Shakespeare. 

45. Allow : acknowledge. Cf. 'allowance,' III, ii, 57. 

46. censure : judgment, sentence. See note, II, i, 22. 

51. Like graves i* th* holy churchyard. Another of the touches 
that are more Elizabethan than Roman. 

57. envy : intend ill will to. Cf. line 95. For the noun ' envy' see 
III, iii, 3. 



SCENE III CORIOLANUS 123 

CoMiNius. Well, well, no more. 

CoRiOLANUS. What is the matter. 
That being pass'd for consul with full voice, 
I am so dishoriour'd that the very hour 60 

You take it off again ? 

SiciNius. Answer to us. 

CoRiOLANUS. Say, then : 't is true, I ought so. 

SiciNius. We charge you, that you have contriv'd to take 
From Rome all season'd office, and to wind 
Yourself into a power tyrannical ; 65 

For which you are a traitor to the people. 

CORIOLANUS. How ? traitor ? 

Menenius. Nay, temperately : your promise. 

CORIOLANUS. The fires i' th' lowest hell fold in the people 
Call me their traitor ? thou injurious tribune ! 
Within thine eyes sat twenty thousand deaths, 70 

In thy hands clutch'd as many millions, in 
Thy lying tongue both numbers, I would say 
-' Thou liest ' unto thee, with a voice as free 
As I do pray the gods. 

SiciNius. Mark you this, people ? 

68. hell fold in Pope | hell. Fould in Fi | hell, Fould in F2F3F4. 

63. contriv'd : conspired, plotted. The usual meaning in Shake- 
speare. Qi. Julms Ccesar, II, iii, 16. 

64. all season'd office : all established order. As shown by Corio- 
lanus's behavior in his candidacy for the consulship. Schmidt inter- 
prets 'season'd' as 'qualified' or 'tempered,' as opposed to 'power 
tyrannical' (line 65). 

68. The fires . . . fold in : may the fires . . . envelop. 

69. their traitor : traitor to them. — injurious : insulting, insolent. 

70. sat : if there sat. Past subjunctive. 

71. clutch'd : if there were clutched. 



124 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iii 

Citizens. To th' rock, to th' rock with him ! 

SiciNius. Peace! 75 

We need not put new matter to his charge : 
What you have seen him do and heard him speak, 
Beating your officers, cursing yourselves, 
Opposing laws with strokes, and here defying 
Those whose great power must try him ; even this 80 

So criminal, and in such capital kind. 
Deserves th' extremest death. 

Brutus. But since he hath 

Serv'd well for Rome — 

CoRiOLANUS. What do you prate of service .'' 

Brutus. I talk of that, that know it. 

CORIOLANUS. You ? 85 

Menenius. Is this the promise that you made your 
mother ? 

CoMiNius. Know, I pray you — 

CoRiOLANus. I '11 know no further : 

Let them pronounce the steep Tarpeian death. 
Vagabond exile, flaying, pent to linger 

But with a grain a day, I would not buy 90 

Their mercy at the price of one fair word, 

75, 106, 119, 137, 142. Citizens I 86. mother? F2F3F4 1 mother. Fi. 

All Ff. 87. you — |you.Ff|you,yettoSey- 

83. Rome— F3F4 I Rome. F1F2. mour. — further F1F2 I farther F3F4. 

81. capital: punishable by death. Cf. 'capital treason,' Al;*??^ Z^^r, 
V, iii, 83. The active sense of the word occurs in V, iii, 104. 

83. What: why. Cf. Cymbeline, III, iv, 34: "What shall I need 
to draw my sword ? " 

84. I talk of that, that know it : I that know talk of it. 

89. pent : being pent. One of the objects of ' pronounce.' Or it 
may mean 'were I pent.' Cf. ' clutch'd,' line 71. 



SCENE III CORIOLANUS 125 

or check my courage for what they can give, 
To have 't with saying ' Good morrow.' 

SiciNius. For that he has, 

As much as in him lies, from time to time 
Envied against the people, seeking means 95 

To pluck away their power, as now at last, 
Given hostile strokes, and that not in the presence 
Of dreaded justice, but on the ministers 
That do distribute it ; in the name o' th' people. 
And in the power of us the tribunes, we, 100 

Even from this instant, banish him our city. 
In peril of precipitation 
From off the rock Tarpeian, never more 
To enter our Rome gates. I' th' people's name, 
I say it shall be so. 105 

Citizens. It shall be so, it shall be so : let him away : 
He 's banish'd, and it shall be so. 

CoMiNius. Hear me, my masters, and my common friends. 

SiciNius. He 's sentenc'd : no more hearing. 

CoMiNius. Let me speak : 

I have been consul, and can show for Rome no 

Her enemies' marks upon me. I do love 
My country's good, with a respect more tender, 
More holy and profound, than mine own life, 

99. do F3F4 I doe F2 I doth Fi. no. for Theobald | from Ff. 

92. courage. The word here seems to mean 'spirit' or 'resolution.' 
There is no reason why Coriolanus should here speak of his bravery, 
as the people have not made this a ground of complaint. 

95. Envied against : shown his ill will toward. Cf. line 57. 

97. not: not only. As in III, ii, 71. 

104. Rome gates. Cf. 'Corioles walls,' I, viii, 8, and see note. 



126 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iii 

My dear wife's estimate, her womb's increase, 

And treasure of my loins ; then if I would 1 1 5 

Speak that — 

SiciNius. We know your drift. Speak what ? 

Brutus. There 's no more to be said, but he is banish'd, 
As enemy to the people, and his country. 
It shall be so. 

Citizens. It shall be so, it shall be so. 

CoRiOLANUs. You common cry of curs ! whose breath I 
hate 1 20 

As reek o' th' rotten fens, whose loves I prize 
As the dead carcasses of unburied men 
That do corrupt my air : I banish you. 
And here remain with your uncertainty ! 
Let every feeble rumour shake your hearts ! 125 

Your enemies, with nodding of their plumes. 
Fan you into despair ! Have the power still 
To banish your defenders, till at length 
Your ignorance, which finds not till it feels, 
Making but reservation of yourselves, 130 

Still your own foes, deliver you, as most 

116. that— Rowe | that. Ff. 130. but Ff | not Capell Globe. 

114. estimate : reputation, worth. Cf . ' estimation.' 

120. cry: pack. Cf. 'your cry,' IV, vi, 147. 

130. Making but reservation of yourselves. Capell's substitution of 
*not' for 'but here,' adopted by many modern editors, seems un- 
necessary. Coriolanus imprecates upon the plebeians that they may 
still retain the power of banishing their defenders, till their undis- 
cerning folly, which can foresee no consequences, leave none in the 
city but themselves ; so that, for want of those capable of conduct- 
ing their defense, they may fall an easy prey to some nation who 
may conquer them without a struggle. 



SCENE III CORIOLANUS 12/ 

Abated captives, to some nation 
That won you without blows ! Despising, 
For you, the city, thus I turn my back : 
There is a world elsewhere. 135 

[Exeunt Coriolanus, Cominius, Menenius, Sena- 
tors, and Patricians. They all shout and throw 
up their caps] 

^DiLE. The people's enemy is gone, is gone ! 

Citizens. Our enemy is banish'd ; he is gone ! hoo 1 hoo ! 

SiciNius. Go see him out at gates, and follow him, 
As he hath follow'd you, with all despite ; 
Give him deserv'd vexation. Let a guard 140 

Attend us through the city. 

Citizens. Come, come, let 's see him out at gates, come : 
The gods preserve our noble tribunes ! Come. [Exeunt] 

133-134- blows ! Despising, For Exeunt . . . Cominius, with Cumalijs 

you, the city, thus Capell I blowes, F1F2 (Cominius, cum aliis F3F4). 
despising For you the City. Thus Ff. 137. hoo ! hoo ! | Hoo, hoo F3F4 I 

135. [Exeunt . . . Cominius, Me- Hoo, 00 F1F2. 
NENius, Senators, fl;?e(5^ Patricians. . .] 143. Come Ff| Come, come Capell. 

132. Abated : humiliated. The literal meaning of ' abate ' is ' beat 
down' (Old French abatre), and it survives in the legal expression 
'abate,' i.e. demolish (as a building). 

136-137. "After declaration of the sentence, the people made such 
joy, as they never rejoiced more for any battle they had won upon 
their enemies, they were so brave and lively, and went home so joc- 
undly from the assembly, for triumph of this sentence." — Plutarch. 



ACT IV 

Scene I. Rome. Before a gate of the city 

Enter Coriolanus, Volumnia, Virgilia, Menenius, 
CoMiNius, with the young Nobility of Rome 

Coriolanus. Come, leave your tears ; a brief farewell : 
the beast 
With many heads butts me away. Nay, mother, 
Where is your ancient courage '^. you were us'd 
To say extremity was the trier of spirits ; 
That common chances common men could bear ; 5 

That when the sea was calm, all boats alike 
Show'd mastership in floating ; fortune's blows, 
When most struck home, being gentle wounded, craves 
A noble cunning. You were us'd to load me 
With precepts that would make invincible 10 

The heart that conn'd them. 

Virgilia. O heavens ! O heavens ! 

ACT IV. Scene I | Actus Quar- tremities were Malone. 

tus Ff. — Rome . . . city Malone | Ff 5. chances common F4 I chances, 

omit. common F2F3 1 chances. Common Fi. 

4, extremity was F3F4I Extream- 8. struck F4 1 strooke F1F2 1 strook 

ity was F2 I Extreamities was Fi | ex- F3. — gentle Ff | gently Capell. 

6-7. This metaphor is elaborated in Troihis and Cressida, I, iii, 
33-45. Cf. Sonnets, LXXX. " Sea-metaphors would appeal specially 
to the Elizabethans." — Verity. 

7-9. fortune's . . . cunning : when fortune's blows strike deepest, 
to be gentle under the wounds demands a noble wisdom. The sub- 
ject of ' craves ' shifts from ' blows ' to ' being gentle.' 

128 



SCENE I CORIOLANUS 129 

CoRiOLANUS. Nay, I prithee, woman — 

VoLUMNiA. Now the red pestilence strike all trades in 
Rome, 
And occupations perish ! 

CoRiOLANus. What, what, what ! 

I shall be lov'd when I am lack'd. Nay, mother, 15 

Resume that spirit, when you were wont to say, 
If you had been the wife of Hercules, 
Six of his labours you 'd have done, and sav'd 
Your husband so much sweat. Cominius, 
Droop not, adieu : farewell, my wife, my mother, 20 

I '11 do well yet. Thou old and true Menenius, 
Thy tears are salter than a younger man's. 
And venomous to thine eyes. My sometime general, 
I have seen thee stern, and thou hast oft beheld 
Heart-hardening spectacles. Tell these sad women, 25 

'T is fond to wail inevitable strokes. 
As 't is to laugh at 'em. My mother, you wot well 
My hazards still have been your solace, and 
Believe 't not lightly (though I go alone. 
Like to a lonely dragon, that his fen 30 

12. woman — Rowe | woman. Ff . 24. thee F3F4 I the F1F2. 

13. red pestilence. Cf.. 'The red plague,' 7"/^^ Tempest, I, ii, 364 ; 'a 
red murrain,' Troilus and Cressida, II, i, 20. Medical writers of the 
time mention three varieties of the plague — red, yellow, and black. 

23. sometime : former. The reference is to Cominius. 

26. fond : foolish. This is the original meaning. 

27. wot : know. So in IV, v, 164. The present tense of the anom- 
alous verb 'wit' (Anglo-Saxon xvitan, 'to know'). The Bible (King 
James version) has the past tense 'wist.' Cf . Exodus, xvi, 1 5 ; Mark, ix, 6. 

30-31. The reference maybe to the Hydra, but more likely to the 
dragon of old romance that, like Grendel slain by Beowulf, inhabited 



I30 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

Makes fear'd, and talk'd of more than seen your son 
Will or exceed the common, or be caught 
With cautelous baits and practice. 

VoLUMNiA. My first son, . 

Whither wilt thou go ? Take good Cominius 
With thee awhile : determine on some course, 35 

More than a wild exposture to each chance 
That starts i' th' way before thee. 

CoRiOLANUs. O the gods ! 

Cominius. I '11 follow thee a month, devise with thee 
Where thou shalt rest, that thou mayst hear of us. 
And we of thee : so, if the time thrust forth 40 

A cause for thy repeal, we shall not send 
O'er the vast world to seek a single man. 
And lose advantage, which doth ever cool 
I' th' absence of the needer. 

CoRiOLANUS. Fare ye well : 

Thou hast years upon thee ; and thou art too full 45 

Of the wars' surfeits, to go rove with one 
That 's yet unbruis'd : bring me but out at gate. 
Come, my sweet wife, my dearest mother, and 
My friends of noble touch ; when I am forth, 

33. My first son Ff | First, my son Whether will thou Fi | Whither will 
Hanmer. you F2F8F4. 

34. Whither wilt thou Capell | 43. lose F3F4 I loose F1F2. 

a *fen.' " Of the Indian dragons there are also said to be two kindes, 
one of them fenny and living in the Marishes . . . the other in the 
Mountains." — Topsell, History of Serpents. 

33. cautelous : crafty. — practice : stratagem. — first : first-born. 

36. exposture: exposure. Cf. 'composture' for 'composure,' Tzzwfw 
of Athens, IV, iii, 444. 

49. of noble touch : of proved nobility. The metaphor from the 
touchstone for trying metals is common in Shakespeare. 



SCENE II CORIOLANUS 131 

Bid me farewell, and smile. I pray you come : 50 

While I remain above the ground, you shall 
Hear from me still, and never of me aught 
But what is like me formerly, 

Menenius. That 's worthily 

As any ear can hear. Come, let 's not weep. 
If I could shake off but one seven years 55 

From these old arms and legs, by the good gods 
I 'd with thee, every foot. 

CoRiOLANUs. Give me thy hand : 

Come. [£xeunf^ 



Scene II. The same. A street near the gate 

Enter the two Tribunes, Sicmius and Brutus, with the ^Edile 

SiciNius. Bid them all home ; he 's gone, and we '11 no 
further. 
The nobility are vexed, whom we see have sided 
In his behalf. 

Brutus. Now we have shown our power, 
Let us seem humbler after it is done 
Than when it was a-doing. 

SiciNius. Bid them home: 5 

Say their great enemy is gone, and they 
Stand in their ancient strength. 

Brutus. Dismiss them home. 

\Exit ^dile] 
Here comes his mother. 

52. aught Theobald | ought Ff. gate \ Ff omit. 

Scene II Pope, — The same ... 7. {Exit ^Edile] Capell | Ff omit. 



132 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

Enter Volumnia, Virgilia, and Menenius 

SiciNius. Let 's not meet her. 

Brutus. Why ? 

SiciNius. They say she 's mad. 

Brutus. They have ta'en note of us : keep on your way. lo 

Volumnia. O, ye 're well met : the hoarded plague o' th' 

gods 
Requite your love ! 

Menenius. Peace, peace ! be not so loud. 

Volumnia. If that I could for weeping, you should 

hear — 
Nay, and you shall hear some. \To Brutus] Will you be 

gone .'' 
Virgilia. \To Sicinius] You shall stay too : I would I 

had the power 15 

To say so to my husband. 

Sicinius. Are you mankind ? 

Volumnia. Ay, fool, is that a shame ? Note but this, fool, 

12. Requite F3F4 I requit F1F2. 15-16. \To Sicinius] Johnson | 

14. \To Brutus] Johnson | [To Ff omit. — You . . . husband | Han- 
Virgilia] Hanmer | Ff omit. mer continues to Volumnia. 

II. the hoarded plague 0' th' gods. Ci. King Lear, II, iv, 164-165: 
"All the stor'd vengeances of heaven, fall On her ungrateful top." 
In the earlier editions of Hudson's Shakespeare Lettsom's conjec- 
ture of 'plagues' for 'plague' was adopted. 

16-18. "The word 'mankind' is used maliciously by the first 
speaker, and taken perversely by the second. A 'mankind' woman 
is a woman with the roughness of a man, and, in an aggravated 
sense, a woman ferocious, violent. ... In this sense Sicinius asks 
Volumnia if she be 'mankind.' She takes 'mankind' for a 'human 
creature,' and accordingly cries out: 'Note but this, fool. Was not 
a man my father?'" — Johnson. In The Winter''s Tale, II, iii, 67, 
Leontes, in anger, calls Paulina 'a mankind witch.' 



SCENE II CORIOLANUS 1 33 

Was not a man my father ? Hadst thou foxship 
To banish him that struck more blows for Rome 
Than thou hast spoken words ? 

SiciNius. O blessed heavens ! 20 

VoLUMNiA. Moe noble blows than ever thou wise words ; 
And for Rome's good. I '11 tell thee what ; yet go : 
Nay, but thou shalt stay too : I would my son 
Were in Arabia, and thy tribe before him, 
His good sword in his hand. 

SiciNius. What then ? 

ViRGiLiA. What then ? 25 

He 'd make an end of thy posterity. 

VoLUMNiA. Bastards and all. 
Good man, the wounds that he does bear for Rome ! 

Menenius. Come, come, peace ! 

SiciNius. I would he had continued to his country 30 
As he began, and not unknit himself 
The noble knot he made. 

Brutus. I would he had. 

VoLUMNiA. ' I would he had ' ? 'T was you incens'd the 
rabble : 
Cats, that can judge as fitly of his worth 
As I can of those mysteries which heaven 35 

Will not have earth to know. 

Brutus. Pray let 's go. 

VoLUMNiA. Now pray, sir, get you gone. 
You have done a brave deed : ere you go, hear this : 

19. struck F4 I strooke F1F2I 22. good. I'll Camb | good, He 
strook F3. Fi I good lie F2F3 I good, I 'le F4. 

20. words? Hanmer | words. Ff. 36. let 's Ff | let us Pope. 

18. foxship. The fox was typical of ingratitude. 



134 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

As far as doth the Capitol exceed 

The meanest house in Rome, so far my son 40 

(This lady's husband here, this, do you see ?) 

Whom you have banish'd, does exceed you all. 

Brutus. Well, well, we '11 leave you. 

SiciNius. Why stay we to be baited 

With one that wants her wits ^ 

[Exeunt Tribunes] 

VoLUMNiA. Take my prayers with you. 

I would the gods had nothing else to do 45 

But to confirm my curses ! Could I meet 'em 
But once a-day, it would unclog my heart 
Of what lies heavy to 't. 

Menenius. You have told them home, 

And, by my troth, you have cause : you '11 sup with me. 

VoLUMNiA. Anger 's my meat : I sup upon myself, 50 
And so shall starve with feeding : come, let 's go ; 
Leave this faint puling, and lament as I do, 
In anger, Juno-like : come, come, come. 

\Exeunt Volumnia and Virgilia] 

Menenius. Fie, fie, fie ! \Exit\ 

43. stay we Fi | stay you F2F3F4. 52. faint puling | faint-puling Ff. 

44. wits? F3F4 I wits. F1F2. 53. \Exeu7itNo\.\iym\t^andN\K- 
49. me. F1F2 I me? F3F4. gilia] Exeunt Ff. 

43-44. baited With : set on by (as a bear by dogs). 
48. lies heavy to 't. Cf. Macbeth, V, iii, 44-45 : 

Cleanse the stuff' d bosom of that perilous stuff 
Which weighs upon the heart. 

— told them home. Cf. II, ii, 100, and see note. 

52. faint puling : weak whimpering. Addressed to Virgilia. " By 
this slight touch, and by the epithet ' faint,' how well is indicated the 
silent agony of weeping in which Virgilia is lost." — Cowden Clarke. 



SCENE III CORIOLANUS 1 35 

Scene III. A highzvay betwee^t Rome and Antium 

Enter a Roman and a Volsce, meeting 

Roman. I know you well, sir, and you know me : your 
name, I think, is Adrian. 

VoLSCE. It is so, sir : truly, I have forgot you. 

Roman. I am a Roman, and my services are, as you are, 
against 'em. Know you me yet ? 5 

VoLSCE. Nicanor ? no. 

Roman. The same, sir. 

VoLSCE. You had more beard when I last saw you, but 
your favour is well appear 'd by your tongue. What 's the 
news in Rome ? I have a note from the Volscian state, to 
find you out there. You have well saved me a day's journey. 

Scene III Pope | Scene II Rowe. 6. Nicanor? F3F4I Nicanor: F1F2. 

— A highway . . . Antium Malone | 9. appear'd Ff | approved Collier 

Ff omit. Globe | appeal'd Warburton. 

I. Enter ...meeting \ Enter... Ff. 10. Rome? F3F4 I Rome: F1F2. 

Scene III. Such a side scene as this not only marks time in 
the dramatic action ; it circumstantiahzes the events. The homely 
personal touches give verisimilitude, as in the realism of De Foe. 
Compare similar scenes in Macbeth, II, iv ; Julius Ccssar, II, iv ; Rich- 
ard II, III, iv. Such scenes are always original with Shakespeare; 
they have no parallel in his literary sources. " Shakespeare's wonder- 
ful judgment appears ... in the introduction of some incident or other, 
though no way connected, yet serving to give an air of historic fact. 
Thus the scene . . . realizes the thing . . . gives an individuality, a 
liveliness and presence." — Coleridge. 

9. your favour . . . your tongue : your countenance is testified 
to by your accent. Or, your identity is established by your voice. 
This transitive use of ' appear' is supported by Cymbeline, III, iv, 148, 
" That which, to appear itself, must not yet be." Cf. ' it appear itself,' 
Much Ado About Nothing, I, ii, 22. Murray gives no transitive use of 
' appear.' Abbott, § 296, suggests that it may be used reflexively. 



136 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

Roman. There hath been in Rome strange insurrections : 
the people against the senators, patricians, and nobles. 13 

VoLSCE. Hath been ? is it ended then ? Our state thinks 
not so : they are in a most warlike preparation, and hope to 
come upon them in the heat of their division. 

Roman. The main blaze of it is past, but a small thing 
would make it flame again : for the nobles receive so to heart 
the banishment of that worthy Coriolanus, that they are in 
a ripe aptness to take all power from the people, and to pluck 
from them their tribunes for ever. This lies glowing, I can tell 
you, and is almost mature for the violent breaking out. 22 

VoLSCE. Coriolanus banish'd .'' 

Roman. Banish'd, sir. 

VoLSCE. You will be welcome with this intelligence, 
Nicanor. 

Roman. The day serves well for them now. I have heard 
it said, the fittest time to corrupt a man's wife is when she 's 
fallen out with her husband. Your noble Tullus Aufidius 
will appear well in these wars, his great opposer, Coriolanus, 
being now in no request of his country. 31 

VoLSCE. He cannot choose : I am most fortunate, thus 
accidentally to encounter you. You have ended my business, 
and I will merrily accompany you home. 

Roman. I shall, between this and supper, tell you most 
strange things from Rome ; all tending to the good of their 
adversaries. Have you an army ready, say you ? 37 

VoLSCE. A most royal one : the centurions and their 

30. will appear F2F3F4 I well appeare Fi. 

12. hath . . . insurrections. For the singular verb preceding a plural 
subject, see Abbott, §§ 332-335. Cf. I, ix, 49. 



SCENE IV CORIOLANUS 1 37 

charges, distinctly billeted, already in the entertainment, and 
to be on foot at an hour's warning. 40 

Roman. I am joyful to hear of their readiness, and am 
the man, I think, that shall set them in present action. So, 
sir, heartily well met, and most glad of your company. 

VoLSCE. You take my part from me, sir ; I have the most 
cause to be glad of yours. 45 

Roman. Well, let us go together. • [£xetmf] 

Scene IV. Antmnt. Before Aufidius's hoitse 

Enter Coriolanus in mean apparel^ disguised and muffled 

CoRiOLANUs. A goodly city is this Antium. City, 
'T is I that made thy widows : many an heir 
Of these fair edifices fore my wars 
Have I heard groan and drop. Then know me not. 
Lest that thy wives with spits, and boys with stones, 5 

In puny battle slay me. 

Enter a Citizen 

Save you, sir. 

Scene IV Capell | Ff omit. — 6. Enter a Citizen | In Ff after 

Anthmt . . . house Capell | Ff omit. ' sir.' 

39. distinctly billeted : assigned to their different quarters. — in 
the entertainment : engaged for active service, mobilized. 

I. Enter Coriolanus . . . mtcffled. " For he disguised himself in 
such array and attire, as he thought no man could ever have known 
him for the person he was, seeing him in that apparel he had upon 
his back : and as Homer said of Ulysses : ' So did he enter into the 
enemies town.' It was even twilight when he entered the city of 
Antium, and many people met him in the streets, but no man knew 
him." — Plutarch. 



138 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

Citizen. And you. 

CoRiOLANus. Direct me, if it be your will, 

Where great Aufidius lies : is he in Antium ? 

Citizen. He is, and feasts the nobles of the state 
At his house this night. 

CoRiOLANUS. Which is his house, beseech you ? lo 

Citizen. This, here before you. 

CoRiOLANUS. Thank you, sir, farewell. 

\_Exit Citizen] 

world, thy slippery turns ! Friends now fast sworn, 
Whose double bosoms seem to wear one heart, 
Whose hours, whose bed, whose meal, and exercise, 

Are still together, who twin as 'twere in love 15 

Unseparable, shall within this hour, 

On a dissension of a doit, break out 

To bitterest enmity : so fellest foes. 

Whose passions and whose plots have broke their sleep 

To take the one the other, by some chance, 20 

Some trick not worth an Qgg, shall grow dear friends 

And interjoin their issues. So with me : 

My birth-place hate I, and my love 's upon 

This enemy town, I '11 enter : if he slay me 

He does fair justice ; if he give me way, 25 

1 '11 do his country service. [Exit] 

13. seem to F4 I seemes to Fi | 15. twin Fi | Twine F2F3F4. 

seen F2F3. — one F1F4 I on F2F3. 23. hate Capell I have Ff . 

13-16. With this picture of friendship compare the early and. more 
elaborated one in A Midsummer NighVs Dream, III, ii, 198-214. 

17. of a doit : concerning a doit. Cf. I, v, 6. 

21. trick : trifle. Cf. The Tmning of the Shretv^ IV, iii, 66-67 • " ^ 
knack, a toy, a trick, a baby's cap." 



SCENE V CORIOLANUS 139 

Scene V. The same. A hall in Aufidius's hoiLse 
Music plays. Enter a Servingman 

1 Servingman. Wine, wine, wine ! what service is here ? 
I think our fellows are asleep. \Exii\ 

Enter a second Servingman 

2 Servingman. Where 's Cotus ? my master calls for 
him. Cotus ! \Exit'\ 

Enter Coriolanus 

CoRiOLANUS. A goodly house: the feast smells well; 
but I 5 

Appear not like a guest. 

Re-enter the first Servingman 

1 Servingman. What would you have, friend ? whence are 
you ? Here 's no place for you : pray go to the door. [Exit] 

Coriolanus. I have deserv'd no better entertainment. 
In being Coriolanus. 10 

Re-enter second Servingman 

2 Servingman. Whence are you, sir ? Has the porter his 
eyes in his head, that he gives entrance to such companions ? 
Pray, get you out. 

Scene V Capell I Scene II Rowe 3. Enter a second . . . | Enter an- 

I Scene IV Pope | Ff omit. — ^ . . . other . . . Ff. — master F4 I M. Fi 

house Rowe | Ff omit. F2F3. 

2. \_Extt\ Rowe I Ff omit. 5- well Fi | F2F3F4 omit. 

3. Cotus. An unknown name, and not found in Plutarch. 
10. In having gained that surname by capturing Corioles. 

12. companions: fellows. 'Companion' means literally ' one who 
takes meals with another.' 



I40 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

CoRiOLANUS. Away ! 

2 Servingman. 'Away! ' get you away. 15 

CoRiOLANUS. Now thou 'rt troublesome. 

2 Servingman. Are you so brave ? I '11 have you talk'd 
with anon. 

Enter a third Servingman. The first meets him 

3 Servingman. What fellow 's this ? 19 
I Servingman. A strange one as ever I look'd on : I can- 
not get him out o' th' house : prithee, call my master to him. 

\Retires'\ 

3 Servingman. What have you to do here, fellow .? Pray 
you avoid the house. 

CORIOLANUS. Let me but stand ; I will not hurt your 
hearth. 25 

3 Servingman. What are you ? 

CORIOLANUS. A gentleman. 

3 Servingman. A marvellous poor one. 

CoRiOLANus. True, so I am. 

3 Servingman. Pray you, poor gentleman, take up some 
other station ; here 's no place for you ; pray you, avoid : 
come. 32 

Coriolanus. Follow your function, go, and batten on 
cold bits. \Pushes him away from him] 

21. \_Re tires] Camb | Ff omit. 

23. avoid: get out of. Used intransitively in line 31. 

24-25. " So he went directly to Tullus Aufidius house, and when he 
came thither, he got him up straight to the chimney-hearth, and sat 
him down, and spake not a word to any man, his face all muffled 
over." — Plutarch. 

33. batten: feed. Literally 'grow fat like an animal.' 



SCENE V CORIOLANUS I41 

3 Servingman. What, you will not? Prithee, tell my 
master what a strange guest he has here. 36 

2 Servingman. And I shall. [Exit] 

3 Servingman. Where dwelFst thou ? 
CoRiOLANUs. Under the canopy. 

3 Servingman. Under the canopy ? 40 

Coriolanus. Ay. 

3 Servingman. Where 's that ? 

Coriolanus. I' th' city of kites and crows. 

3 Servingman. I' th' city of kites and crows ? What an 
ass it is ! Then thou dwell'st with daws too .? 45 

Coriolanus. No, I serve not thy master. 

3 Servingman. How, sir? do you meddle with my master? 

Coriolanus. Ay; 'tis an honester service than to med- 
dle with thy mistress : 

Thou prat'st, and prat'st ; serve with thy trencher, hence ! 50 
[Beats him away. Exit third Servingman] 

Enter Aufidius with the second Servingman 

AuFiDlus. Where is this fellow ? 

2 Servingman. Here, sir : I 'd have beaten him like a 
dog, but for disturbing the lords within. [Retires] 

45. it is ! Pope | it is, Ff. 51, Enter , . . wit/i the second , . . | 

50. [ . . . Exit third Servingman] Enter . . . with the . . . Ff. 

Ff omit. 53. \^Retires\ Cartib | Ff omit. 

39. the canopy: the sky. Cf. Hamlet, II, ii, 311-312: "this most 
excellent canopy, the air, look you, this brave o'erhanging firma- 
ment, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire." 

51. Enter K\}Y\v>\\i%. "Whereupon they v^ent to Tullus, who was at 
supper, to tell him of the strange disguising of this man. Tullus rose 
presently from the board, and coming towards him, asked him what 
he was, and wherefore he came." — Plutarch. 



142 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

AuFiDius. Whence com'st thou ? What wouldst thou ? 
Thy name ? 54 

Why speak'st not ? speak, man ; what 's thy name ? 

CoRiOLANUS. [ Unmuffling\ If, Tullus, 

54. thou F3F4 I y F1F2. 55. [ Unmuffling\ Capell | Ff omit. 

55-102. The following affords a most interesting example of 
Shakespeare's use of source-material. "Then Martius unmuffled 
himself, and after he had paused awhile, making no answer, he said 
unto him : If thou knowest me not yet, Tullus, and, seeing me, dost 
not perhaps believe me to be the man I am indeed, I must of neces- 
sity bewray myself to be that I am. I am Caius Martius, who hath 
done to thyself particularly, and to all the Volsces generally, great 
hurt and mischief, which I cannot deny for my surname of Coriolanus 
that I bear. For I never had other benefit nor recompence of the 
true and painful service I have done, and the extreme dangers I 
have been in, but this only surname : a good memory and witness 
of the malice and displeasure thou shouldest bear me. Indeed the 
name only remaineth with me : for the rest the envy and cruelty of 
the people of Rome have taken from me, by the sufferance of the 
dastardly nobility and magistrates, who have forsaken me, and let 
me be banished by the people. This extremity hath now driven me 
to come as a poor suitor, to take thy chimney-hearth, not of any 
hope I have to save my life thereby : for if I had feared death, I 
would not have come hither to have put myself in hazard : but 
pricked forward with desire to be revenged of them that thus have 
banished me ; which now I do begin, in putting my person into the 
hands of their enemies. Wherefore, if thou hast any heart to be 
wrecked of the injuries thy enemies have done thee, speed thee 
now, and let my misery serve thy turn, and so use it as my service 
may be a benefit to the Volsces : promising thee, that I will fight 
with better good will for all you than I did when I was against you, 
knowing that they fight more valiantly who know the force of the 
enemy, than such as have never proved it. And if it be so that thou 
dare not, and that thou art weary to prove fortune any more, then 
am I also weary to live any longer. And it were no wisdom in thee, to 
save the life of him, who hath been heretofore thy mortal enemy, and 
whose service now can nothing help nor pleasure thee." — Plutarch. 



SCENE V CORIOLANUS 143 

Not yet thou know'st me, and seeing me, dost not 56 

Think me for the man I am, necessity 
Commands me name myself. 

AuFiDius. What is thy name ? 

^ CoRiOLANUS. A name unmusical to the Volscians' ears 
And harsh in sound to thine. 

AuFiDius. Say, what 's thy name ? 60 

Thou hast a grim appearance, and thy face 
Bears a command in 't : though thy tackle 's torn, 
Thou show'st a noble vessel : what 's thy name ? 

CoRiOLANUs. Prepare thy brow to frown : know'st thou 
me yet ? 

AuFiDius. I know thee not : thy name ? 65 

CoRiOLANUs. My name is Caius Martins, who hath done 
To thee particularly, and to all the Volsces 
Great hurt and mischief : thereto witness may 
My surname, Coriolanus. The painful service. 
The extreme dangers, and the drops of blood 70 

Shed for my thankless country, are requited 
But with that surname ; a good memory, 
And witness of the malice and displeasure 
Which thou shouldst bear me : only that name remains : 
The cruelty and envy of the people, 75 

Permitted by our dastard nobles, who 
Have all forsook me, hath devour 'd the rest ; 
And suffer'd me by th' voice of slaves to be 
Hoop'd out of Rome. Now, this extremity 
Hath brought me to thy hearth ; not out of hope 80 

71. requited Rowe | requited : F3 79. Hoop'd Ff Camb | Whoop'd 
F4 I requitted : F1F2. Hanmer Delius Globe. 

72. memory : memorial. The word is from Plutarch. Cf. V, i, 17. 



144 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

(Mistake me not) to save my life ; for if 

I had fear'd death, of all the men i' th' world 

I would have voided thee. But in mere spite 

To be full quit of those my banishers, 

Stand I before thee here: then, if thou hast 85 

A heart of wreak in thee, that wilt revenge 

Thine own particular wrongs, and stop those maims 

Of shame seen through thy country, speed thee straight. 

And make my misery serve thy turn : so use it. 

That my revengeful services may prove 90 

As benefits to thee. For I will fight 

Against my canker'd country, with the spleen 

Of all the under fiends. But if so be 

Thou dar'st not this, and that to prove more fortunes 

Thou 'rt tir'd, then, in a word, I also am 95 

Longer to live most weary, and present 

My throat to thee and to thy ancient malice ; 

Which not to cut, would show thee but a fool. 

Since I have ever followed thee with hate. 

Drawn tuns of blood out of thy country's breast, 100 

And cannot live but to thy shame, unless 

It be to do thee service. 

AuFiDius. O Martius, Martius ! 

Each word thou hast spoke hath weeded from my heart 
A root of ancient envy. If Jupiter 

83. voided : avoided. ' Void ' is a variant, not a contracted, form 
of ' avoid.' 

84. full quit of : thoroughly revenged upon. 
86. A heart of wreak : a revengeful heart. 

87-88. particular: personal. — maims Of shame : disgraceful hurts 
(with the suggestion of losses of territory). 

92. canker'd: infected, corrupted. Ci. i Ifatry IV, I, iii, 137. 



SCENE V CORIOLANUS 1 45 

Should from yond cloud speak divine things, 105 

And say ' T is true,' I 'd not believe them more 

Than thee, all noble Martius. Let me twine 

Mine arms about that body, where against 

My grained ash an hundred times hath broke, 

And scarr'd the moon with splinters : here I clip no 

The anvil of my sword, and do contest 

As hotly, and as nobly with thy love 

As ever in ambitious strength I did 

Contend against thy valour. Know thou first, 

I lov'd the maid I married ; never man 115 

Sigh'd truer breath. But that I see thee here. 

Thou noble thing ! more dances my rapt heart 

Than when I first my wedded mistress saw 

Bestride my threshold. Why, thou Mars ! I tell thee. 

We have a power on foot ; and I had purpose 120 

Once more to hew thy target from thy brawn. 

Or lose mine arm for 't : thou hast beat me out 

Twelve several times, and I have nightly since 

Dreamt of encounters 'twixt thyself and me : 

no. scarr'd Ff | scar'd Rowe. — 119. Bestride Fi I Bestrid F2F3F4. 

clip Pope I deep Ff, 122. lose F3F4 I loose F1F2. 

no. scarr'd . . . splinters. This hyperbole Delius, in defense of the 
reading of the FoHos, compares with The Winter'' s Tale, III, iii, 93 : 
" the ship boring the moon with her main-mast." Malone, in defense 
of Rowe's ' scar'd,' quotes Richard III, V, iii, 341 : "Amaze the welkin 
with your broken staves." 

iio-iii. clip the anvil of my sword : embrace him who was struck 
by my sword as the anvil is by the hammer. 

114. Know thou first. Daniel's conjecture that this should read 
'Know, thou first!' i.e. 'thou foremost of men,' was adopted in 
previous editions of Hudson's Shakespeare. 

122. out : out and out, thoroughly. 



146 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

We have been down together in my sleep, 125 

Unbuckling helms, fisting each other's throat, 

And wak'd half dead with nothing. Worthy Martius, 

Had we no quarrel else to Rome, but that 

Thou art thence banish 'd, we would muster all 

From twelve to seventy, and pouring war 130 

Into the bowels of ungrateful Rome, 

Like a bold flood o'er-beat. O, come, go in. 

And take our friendly senators by th' hands. 

Who now are here, taking their leaves of me, 

Who am prepar'd against your territories, 135 

Though not for Rome itself. 

CoRiOLANUs. You blcss me, gods ! 

AuFiDius. Therefore, most absolute sir, if thou wilt have 
The leading of thine own revenges, take 
Th' one half of my commission, and set down 
(As best thou art experienc'd, since thou know'st 140 

Thy country's strength and weakness) thine own ways; 
Whether to knock against the gates of Rome, 
Or rudely visit them in parts remote. 
To fright them, ere destroy. But come in : 
Let me commend thee first to those that shall 145 

Say yea to thy desires. A thousand welcomes ! 
And more a friend than e'er an enemy ; 
Yet, Martius, that was much. Your hand : most welcome ! 
\Exetmt CoRiOLANUS and Aufidius. The two Serv- 

ingmen come fo7'ward'\ 

I Servingman. Here 's a strange alteration ! 



128. no F8F4 I no other F1F2. 148. \Exeiint . . .forward] Exeunt. 

132. -beat Ff | -bear Rowe Globe. Enter two of the Seruingmen Ff. 
144. come Ff | come, come Rowe, 149. Scene V Pope. 



SCENE V CORIOLANUS ' 147 

2 Servingman. By my hand, I had thought to have 
strucken him with a cudgel ; and yet my mind gave me 
his clothes made a false report of him. 152 

1 Servingman. What an arm he has ! he turn'd me about 
with his finger and his thumb, as one would set up a top. 

2 Servingman. Nay, I knew by his face that there was 
something in him. He had, sir, a kind of face, methought — 
I cannot tell how to term it. 157 

1 Servingman. He had so ; looking as it were — would 
I were hang'd, but I thought there was more in him than I 
could think. 160 

2 Servingman. So did I, I '11 be sworn : he is simply 
the rarest man i' th' world. 

1 Servingman. I think he is : but a greater soldier than 
he, you wot one. 

2 Servingman. Who, my master ? 165 

1 Servingman. Nay, it 's no matter for that. 

2 Servingman. Worth six on him. 

1 Servingman. Nay, not so neither : but I take him to 
be the greater soldier. 169 

2 Servingman. Faith, look you, one cannot tell how to 
say that : for the defence of a town, our general is excellent. 

I Servingman. Ay, and for an assault too. 

Re-enter third Servingman 

3 Servingman. O slaves, I can tell you news ; news, 
you rascals ! 174 

151. strucken F3F4lstroken F1F2. 173. Re-enter third . . . | Enter the 

164. one Ff I on Dyce. third . . . Ff . 

164. you wot one : you know the one I mean. 

166. it 's no matter for that : never mind that (i.e. 'no names ! '). 



148 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

I AND 2 Servingmen. What, what, what ? let 's partake. 

3 Servingman. I would not be a Roman of all nations ; 
I had as lieve be a condemn'd man. 

I AND 2 Servingmen. Wherefore ? wherefore ? 

3 Servingman. Why, here 's he that was wont to thwack 
our general, Caius Martius. 180 

1 Servingman. Why do you say, ' thwack our general ' ? 
3 Servingman. I do not say ' thwack our general,' but 

he was always good enough for him. 183 

2 Servingman. Come, we are fellows and friends : he 
was ever too hard for him ; I have heard him say so himself. 

1 Servingman. He was too hard for him directly, to say 
the troth on 't : before Corioles, he scotch 'd him and notch'd 
him like a carbonado. 

2 Servingman. And he had been cannibally given, he 
might have boil'd and eaten him too. 190 

I Servingman. But more of thy news ? 

3 Servingman. Why, he is so made on here within, as if 
he were son and heir to Mars ; set at upper end o' th' table : 
no question ask'd him by any of the senators, but they stand 
bald before him. Our general himself makes a mistress of 
him, sanctifies himself with 's hand, and turns up the white 
o' th' eye to his discourse. But the bottom of the news is, 
our general is cut i' th' middle, and but one half of what he 

175 > 178. I AND 2 Servingmen | 189. And Ff | An Capell. 

2. 3. Capell I Both Ff. 190. boil'd | boyld Ff | broiled 

177. lieve F4 I Hue Fi | live F2F3. Pope Globe. 
187. on't: before I on 't before Ff. 191. news? Capell I Newes. Ff. 

187. troth. A variant form of 'truth.' — scotch'd: scored, gashed. 

188. carbonado : " a piece of fish, flesh, or fowl, scored across and 
grilled or broiled upon the coals." — Murray. 

196. sanctifies . . . hand : considers the touch of his hand as holy. 



SCENE V CORIOLANUS 1 49 

was yesterday ; for the other has half, by the entreaty and 
grant of the whole table. He '11 go, he says, and sowl the 
porter of Rome gates by th' ears : he will mow all down 
before him, and leave his passage poll'd. 202 

2 Servingman. And he 's as like to do 't as any man I 
can imagine. 

3 Servingman. Do 't ? he will do 't ; for, look you, sir, he 
has as many friends as enemies ; which friends, sir, as it 
were, durst not, look you, sir, show themselves, as we term 
it, his friends whilst he 's in directitude. 208 

I Servingman. Directitude ! what 's that ? 

3 Servingman. But when they shall see, sir, his crest up 
again, and the man in blood, they will out of their burrows, 
like conies after rain, and revel all with him. 212 

1 Servingman. But when goes this forward ? 

3 Servingman. To-morrow ; to-day ; presently : you shall 
have the df um struck up this afternoon : 't is, as it were, 
a parcel of their feast, and to be executed ere they wipe 
their lips. 217 

2 Servingman, Why, then we shall have a stirring world 
again : this peace is nothing, but to rust iron, increase tailors, 
and breed ballad-makers. 220 

I Servingman. Let me have war, say I ; it exceeds peace 

200. sowl I sowle Rowe | sole Ff. 215. struck F4 I strooke F1F2 I 

202. poll'd Rowe I poul'd Ff. strook F3. 

200. sowl: pull (generally with the qualification 'by the ears'). 

202. poll'd: stripped, bare. Cf. 'poll and pill,' meaning 'plunder 
and strip.' ' Poll ' means originally ' cut,' ' shear ' (especially the hair). 

209. Directitude. A humorous blunder for some word meaning 
' discredit.' Similar malapropisms are in Dogberry's speeches in 
Muck Ado About Nothing. 

211. in blood : in good condition. Cf. 'worst in blood,' I, i, 154. 



I50 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

as far as day does night : it 's sprightly, waking, audible, and 
full of vent. Peace is a very apoplexy, lethargy, mull'd, deaf, 
sleepy, insensible. Ay, and it makes men hate one another. 

3 Servingman. Reason, because they then less need one 
another : the wars for my money. I hope to see Romans as 
cheap as Volscians. They are rising, they are rising. 227 

I AND 2 Servingmen. In, in, in, in ! [JSxezmfj 

Scene VI. Rome. A public place 

Enter the two tribtmes Sicinius a7id Brutus 

SiciNius. We hear not of him, neither need we fear him ; 
His remedies are tame : the present peace 
And quietness of the people, which before 
Were in wild hurry, here do make his friends 
Blush that the world goes well, who rather had, 5 

Though they themselves did suffer by 't, behold 
Dissentious numbers pest'ring streets than see 
Our tradesmen singing in their shops and going 
About their functions friendly. 9 

222. sprightly, waking Pope | — Rome . . .place I Ff omit, 
sprightly walking Ff. 2. tame ; the | tame, the Ff | tame 

224. sleepy F3F4 I sleepe F1F2. i' the Theobald Camb. 
228. I AND ... I Both Ff. 4. hurry, here do Hanmer | hurry. 

Scene VI Pope I Scene IV Rowe. Hcere do we Ff. 

222. audible : able to hear, alert. See note, I, iii, 2. 

223. vent : "the scenting of the game." — Baynes. This makes the 
much-disputed phrase equivalent to ' excitement of the chase,' and 
carries on the metaphor suggested by 'in blood' (line 211). 'Vent' 
(French, from Latin ventiis, 'wind') is thus equivalent to 'wind,' 
meaning ' scent' Wright thinks that 'vent' has reference to effer- 
vescent wine, ' working ready to burst the cask,' as contrasted with 
'mull'd.' — mull'd : insipid, lifeless (like sweetened wine). 



SCENE VI CORIOLANUS 1 5 1 

Enter Menenius 

Brutus. We stood to 't in good time. Is this Menenius ? 

SiciNius. 'T is he, 't is he : O, he is grown most kind of 
late : 
Hail, sir ! 

Menenius. Hail to you both ! 

SiciNius. Your Coriolanus 

Is not much miss'd, but with his friends : 
The commonwealth doth stand, and so would do. 
Were he more angry at it. 15 

Menenius. All 's well ; and might have been much 
better, if 

He could have temporiz'd. 

Sicinius. Where is he, hear you ? 

Menenius. Nay, I hear nothing : his mother and his wife 
Hear nothing from him. 

Entei' three or four Citizens 

Citizens. The gods preserve you both ! 
Sicinius. God-den, our neighbours. 20 

Brutus. God-den to you all, god-den to you all. 
I Citizen. Ourselves, our wives, and children, on our 
knees. 
Are bound to pray for you both. 

Sicinius. Live, and thrive ! 

12. Hail, sir ! Ff Camb Delius | 20, 25. Citizens | All Ff. 

Both Trt. Hail, sir ! Globe. 20, 21. God-den | Gooden F1F2F3 

12-17. Your Coriolanus . . . have | Good-e'en F4. 
temporiz'd | Prose in Ff. 20. our F1F2 I F3F4 omit. 

20, 21. God-den : good even. Cf. ' God ye good even,' As You 
Like It, V, i, 16. In Romeo and Juliet, I, ii, 58, Quartos and Folios 
print 'Godgigoden' for 'God give you good even.' 



152 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

Brutus. Farewell, kind neighbours : we wish'd Coriolanus 
Had lov'd you as we did. 

Citizens. Now the gods keep you ! 25 

Both Tribunes. Farewell, farewell. [Exeunt Citizens] 

SiciNius. This is a happier and more comely time 
Than when these fellows ran about the streets, 
Crying confusion. 

Brutus. Caius Martius was 

A worthy officer i' th' war ; but insolent, 30 

O'ercome with pride, ambitious past all thinking, 
Self -loving — 

SiciNius. And affecting one sole throne, 
Without assistance. 

Menenius. I think not so. 

SiciNius. We should by this, to all our lamentation, 
If he had gone forth consul, found it so. 35 

Brutus. The gods have well prevented it, and Rome 
Sits safe and still without him. 

Enter an ^Edile 

^dile. Worthy tribunes, 

There is a slave, whom we have put in prison, 
Reports the Volsces with two several powers 
Are ent'red in the Roman territories, 40 

And with the deepest malice of the war 
Destroy what lies before 'em. 

Menenius. 'T is Aufidius, 

Who, hearing of our Martius' banishment. 
Thrusts forth his horns again into the world, 

32. Self -loving — Capell | Self- 34- should Ff | had Pope. — lam- 

loving. Ff. entation | Lamention Fi. 



SCENE VI CORIOLANUS 1 53 

Which were inshell'd when Martius stood for Rome, 45 

And durst not once peep out. 

SiciNius. Come, what talk you 

Of Martius ? 

Brutus. Go see this rumourer whipp'd. It cannot be 
The Volsces dare break with us. 

Menenius. Cannot be ? 

We have record that very well it can, 

And three examples of the like hath been 50 

Within my age. But reason with the fellow 
Before you punish him, where he heard this. 
Lest you shall chance to whip your information, 
And beat the messenger who bids beware 
Of what is to be dreaded. 

SiciNius. Tell not me : 55 

I know this cannot be. 

Brutus. Not possible. 

Enter a Messenger 

Messenger. The nobles in great earnestness are going 
All to the senate-house : some news is coming 
That turns their countenances. 

SiciNius. 'T is this slave 

(Go whip him fore the people's eyes) his raising ; 60 

Nothing but his report. 

Messenger. Yes, worthy sir. 

The slave's report is seconded ; and more, 
More fearful, is deliver'd. 

SiciNius. What more fearful 1 

47. whipp'd. It I whipt, it Ff. 58. coming F4 I comming F1F2F3 

50. hath F1F2F3 I have F4. I come Rowe Delius Camb. 



154 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

Messenger. It is spoke freely out of many mouths 
(How probable I do not know) that Martius, 65 

Join'd with Aufidius, leads a power 'gainst Rome, 
And vows revenge as spacious as between 
The young'st and oldest thing. 

SiciNius. This is most likely ! 

Brutus. Rais'd only, that the weaker sort may wish 
Good Martius home again. 

SiciNius. The very trick on 't. 70 

Menenius. This is unlikely : 
He and Aufidius can no more atone 
Than violent'st contrariety. 

Enter a second Messenger 

2 Messenger. You are sent for to the senate : 
A fearful army, led by Caius Martius 75 

Associated with Aufidius, rages 
Upon our territories, and have already 
O'erborne their way, consum'd with fire, and took 
What lay before them. 

Enter Cominius 

CoMiNius. O, you have made good work ! 

Menenius. What news 1 What news ? 80 

Cominius. You have holp to ravish your own daughters, and 

73. violent'st Ff I violentest Pope. Ff. — 2 Messenger | 2 Mes. Han- 

74. Enter a second . . . | Enter . . . mer | Mes. Ff. 

67-68. as spacious . . . thing. Either 'so comprehensive as to 
include all, from the youngest to the oldest,' or 'as infinite in its 
extent as from the beginning of time until to-day.' 

72. atone : be at one, agree. The etymological idea. 



SCENE VI CORIOLANUS 1 5 5 

To melt the city leads upon your pates ; 

To see your wives dishonour'd to your noses — 

Menenius. What 's the news ? What 's the news ? 

CoMiNius. Your temples burned in their cement, and 85 
Your franchises, whereon you stood, confin'd 
Into an auger's bore. 

Menenius. Pray now, your news ? 

You have made fair work, I fear me : pray, your news ? 
If Martins should be join'd with Volscians — 

COMINIUS. If ? 

He is their god : he leads them like a thing 90 

Made by some other deity than nature, 

That shapes man better ; and they follow him. 

Against us brats, with no less confidence 

Than boys pursuing summer butterflies. 

Or butchers killing flies. 

Menenius. You have made good work, 95 

You and your apron-men ; you that stood so much 
Upon the voice of occupation and 
The breath of garlic-eaters. 

CoMiNius. He '11 shake your Rome about your ears. 

Menenius. As Hercules 

Did shake down mellow fruit : you have made fair work ! 100 

83. noses — Capell | Noses. Ff. | Augorsboare FiFaJ augors boar F3. 

87. auger's bore | augers bore F4 87, 88. news? F3F4 I Newes, F1F2. 

97. voice of occupation : vote of the workingmen. 

98. breath of garlic-eaters. Cf. A Midsu7nmer NighVs Dream^ IV, 
ii, 42-44 : "And, most dear actors, eat no onions, nor garlic ; for we 
are to utter sweet breath." 

99-100. As Hercules . . . fruit. One of the labours of Hercules 
was to get the golden apples of the Hesperides. — you have made 
fair work. Ironically contrasted with the success of Hercules. 



156 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

Brutus. But is this true, sir ? 

CoMiNius. Ay, and you '11 look pale 

Before you find it other. All the regions 
Do smilingly revolt ; and who resists 
Are mock'd for valiant ignorance, 

And perish constant fools : who is 't can blame him ? 105 
Your enemies and his find something in him. 

Menenius. We are all undone, unless 
The noble man have mercy. 

CoMiNius. Who shall ask it ? 

The tribunes cannot do 't for shame ; the people 
Deserve such pity of him as the wolf no 

Does of the shepherds : for his best friends, if they 
Should say * Be good to Rome,' they charg'd him even 
As those should do that had deserv'd his hate, 
And therein show'd like enemies. 

Menenius. 'T is true : 

If he were putting to my house the brand 115 

That should consume it, I have not the face 
To say ' Beseech you, cease.' You have made fair hands, 
You and your crafts ! you have crafted fair ! 

CoMiNius. You have brought 

A trembling upon Rome, such as was never 
So incapable of help. 

Both Tribunes. Say not, we brought it. 120 

Menenius. How ? Was 't we .? we lov'd him, but, like 
beasts 

103. resists Ff I resist Hanmer 120. So incapable | S'incapable Ff. 

Camb Delius Globe. — Both Tribunes Dyce | Tri. Ff. 

112. they charg'd: they would charge (i.e. implore). 
117. fair hands : a pretty piece of work, fine business. 



SCENE VI CORIOLANUS 157 

And cowardly nobles, gave way unto your clusters, 
Who did hoot him out o' th' city, 

CoMiNius. But I fear 

They '11 roar him in again. Tullus Aufidius, 
The second name of men, obeys his points 125 

As if he were his officer : desperation 
Is all the policy, strength, and defence, 
That Rome can make against them. 

Enter a troop of Citizens 

Menenius. Here come the clusters. 

And is Aufidius with him ? You are they 
That made the air unwholesome, when you cast 130 

Your stinking greasy caps in hooting at 
Coriolanus' exile. Now he 's coming ; 
And not a hair upon a soldier's head 
Which will not prove a whip : as many coxcombs 
As you threw caps up will he tumble down, 135 

And pay you for your voices. 'T is no matter ; 
If he could burn us all into one coal. 
We have deserv'd it. 

Citizens. Faith, we hear fearful news. 

1 Citizen. For mine own part, 
When I said, banish him, I said, 't was pity. 140 

2 Citizen. And so did I. 

3 Citizen. And so did I ; and, to say the truth, so did 
very many of us : that we did, we did for the best ; and 

128. Scene VII Pope. 139. Citizens | Omnes Ff. 

125. second name : next in renown. — points. Cf. The Tempest^ I, 
ii, 498-499 : " but then exactly do All points of my command." 



158 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

though we willingly consented to his banishment, yet it was 
against our will. 145 

CoMiNius. Ye 're goodly things, you voices ! 

Menenius. You have made 

Good work, you and your cry ! Shall 's to the Capitol ? 

CoMiNius. O, ay, what else ? 

[Exeunt Cominius and Menenius] 

SiciNius. Go, masters, get you home ; be not dismay'd : 
These are a side that would be glad to have 150 

This true which they so seem to fear. Go home. 
And show no sign of fear. 

1 Citizen. The gods be good to us ! Come, masters, 
let 's home. I ever said we were i' th' wrong when we ban- 
ish'd him. 155 

2 Citizen. So did we all. But, come, let 's home. 

[Exeunt Citizens] 
Brutus. I do not like this news. 
SiciNius. Nor I. 

Brutus. Let 's to the Capitol : would half my wealth 
Would buy this for a" lie ! 

SiciNius. Pray, let 's go. [Exeunt'] 160 

146. made Fi I made you F2F3F4. 156. [^Exetmi . . .] Exit Cit. Ff. 
148. \Exewii . . .1 Exeunt both Ff. i6o. \_Exeunt] Exeunt Tribunes Ff. 

147. cry : pack of hounds. Cf. ' cry of curs,' III, iii, 120. 
153-156. " His chiefest purpose was to increase still the malice 

and dissension between the nobility and the commonalty . . . This 
made greater stir and broil between the nobility and the people 
than was before. For the noblemen fell out with the people because 
they had so unjustly banished a man of so great valour and power. 
. . . Then fell there out a marvellous sudden change of mind among 
the people, and far more strange and contrary in the nobility. For 
the people thought it good to repeal the condemnation and exile of 
Martins." — Plutarch. 



SCENE VII CORIOLANUS 1 59 

Scene VII. A camp, at a small distance from, Rome 

Enter Aufidius with his Lieutenant 

AuFiDius. Do they still fly to th' Roman ? 

Lieutenant. I do not know what witchcraft 's in him, but 
Your soldiers use him as the grace fore meat, 
Their talk at table, and their thanks at end ; 
And you are dark'ned in this action, sir, 5 

Even by your own. 

Aufidius. I cannot help it now, 

Unless, by using means, I lame the foot 
Of our design. He bears himself more proudlier, 
Even to my person, than I thought he would 
When first I did embrace him : yet his nature 10 

In that 's no changeling, and I must excuse 
What cannot be amended. 

Lieutenant. Yet I wish, sir, 

(I mean for your particular) you had not 
Join'd in commission with him ; but either 

Scene VII Capelll SceneV Rowe Rome Theobald | Ff omit. 
I Scene VIII Pope. — A camp ... 8. proudlier Fi| proudly F2F3F4. 

1-6. " The other Volsces that were appointed to remain in gar- 
rison for defence of their country, hearing this good news, would 
tarry no longer at home, but armed themselves and ran to Martins' 
camp, saying they did acknowledge no other captain but him. Here- 
upon his fame ran through all Italy, and every one praised him for 
a valiant captain." — Plutarch. 

6. your own : your own soldiers. 

13. for your particular : so far as you personally are concerned. 

14. " Thus he was joined in commission with Tullus as general of 
the Volsces,- having absolute authority between them to follow and 
pursue the wars." — Plutarch, 



l6o THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

Have borne the action of yourself, or else 15 

To him had left it solely. 

AuFiDius. I understand thee well ; and be thou sure, 
When he shall come to his account, he knows not 
What I can urge against him. Although it seems, 
And so he thinks, and is no less apparent 20 

To th' vulgar eye, that he bears all things fairly. 
And shows good husbandry for the Volscian state, 
Fights dragon-like, and does achieve as soon 
As draw his sword, yet he hath left undone 
That which shall break his neck or hazard mine, 25 

Whene'er we come to our account. 

Lieutenant. Sir, I beseech you, think you he '11 carry 
Rome ? 

AuFiDius. All places yield to him ere he sits down, 
And the nobility of Rome are his : 

The senators and patricians love him too : 30 

The tribunes are no soldiers ; and their people 
Will be as rash in the repeal, as hasty 
To expel him thence. I think he '11 be to Rome 
As is the osprey to the fish, who takes it 
By sovereignty of nature. First, he was 35 

A noble servant to them ; but he could not 

15. Have Ff I Had Malone. 28. yield F2F3F4 I yeelds Fi. 

19. him. Although Capell | him, 30. senators F1F3F4 I senator F2. 

although Ff | him ; though Pope. 34. osprey Theobald | Aspray Ff. 

34. The osprey was supposed to fascinate fish, making them turn 
on their backs and yield themselves an unresisting prey. Cf. The 
Two Noble Kinsmen, I, i, 138-140 : 

Your [Jove's] actions 
Soon as they move, as ospreys do the fish, 
Subdue before they touch. 



SCENE VII CORIOLANUS l6l 

Carry his honours even : whether 't was pride, 

Which out of daily fortune ever taints 

The happy man ; whether defect of judgment, 

To fail in the disposing of those chances 40 

Which he was lord of ; or whether nature, 

Not to be other than one thing, not moving 

From th' casque to th' cushion, but commanding peace 

Even with the same austerity and garb. 

As he controll'd the war. But one of these, 45 

(As he hath spices of them all, not all, 

For I dare so far free him) made him fear'd. 

So hated, and so banish'd : but he has a merit 

To choke it in the utt'rance. So our virtues 

37. 'twas F3F4 1 'was F1F2. 49. To choke | Tho' chokes Han- 

39. defect F2F3F4 I detect Fi. mer. — virtues F2F3F4 I Vertue, Fi. 

37-45, pride . . . war. "Aufidius assigns three probable reasons for 
the miscarriage of Coriolanus ; pride, which easily follows an un- 
interrupted train of success ; unskilfulness to regulate the conse- 
quences of his own victories : a stubborn uniformity of nature, which 
could not make the proper transition from the ' casque ' or ' helmet ' 
to the ' cushion' or 'chair of civil authority' ; but acted with the same 
despotism in peace as in war." — Johnson. 

39. happy : lucky, fortunate. Cf. Latin y^//:r. 

46. He savors of all but not in their full strength. 

48-49. but he . . . utt'rance : but he is able to choke it (his banish- 
ment) while it is being proclaimed. This is added parenthetically, 
and is aside from the main thought. The following 'so' refers to 
what precedes the parenthesis. 

49-53. So . . . done : thus our virtues depend on how we are esti- 
mated by our contemporaries, and power most commendable in itself 
finds no path to ruin so inevitable as that of a place of authority 
which extols its deeds. That is, let a man like Coriolanus, with his 
habits of military prerogative, be once advanced to a place of civil 
authority, and the very seat which rewards and blazons his exploits 



l62 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act iv 

Lie in th' interpretation of the time ; 50 

And power, unto itself most commendable, 

Hath not a tomb so evident as a chair 

T' extol what it hath done. 

One fire drives out one fire ; one nail, one nail ; 

Rights by rights fouler, strengths by strengths do fail. 55 

Come, let 's away. When, Caius, Rome is thine. 

Thou art poor'st of all ; then shortly art thou mine. 

55. fouler Ff | falter Dyce Globe | founder Malone, 

is sure to prove his destruction. 

52. evident: certain, inevitable. — chair: sella curii/h, the official 
seat of the higher magistrates. 

54. One fire drives out one fire : heat expels heat. An allusion to 
the old idea of curing a burn by applying heat. 

55. Probably the sense of 'fail' is anticipated in the first clause 
and that of 'fouler' continued over the second, and the meaning 
will be that the better rights succumb to the worse and the nobler 
strengths to the meaner. See textual variants for attempts at 
emendation. 



ACT V 

Scene I. Rome. A public place 

Enter Menenius, Cominius, Sicinius and Brutus, the 
two Tribunes, with others 

Menenius. No, I '11 not go : you hear what he hath said 
Which was sometime his general, who lov'd him 
In a most dear particular. He call'd me father : 
But what o' that ? Go, you that banish'd him ; 
A mile before his tent fall down, and knee 5 

The way into his mercy : nay, if he coy'd 
To hear Cominius speak, I '11 keep at home. 

Cominius. He would not seem to know me. 

Menenius. Do you hear .? 

Cominius. Yet one time he did call me by my name : 
I urg'd our old acquaintance, and the drops 10 

That we have bled together. Coriolanus 
He would not answer to : forbad all names ; 
He was a kind of nothing, titleless, 

ACT V. Scene 1 1 Actus Quintus 5, knee Fi | kneele F2 1 kneel F3F4. 

Ff. — Rome . . .place \ Ff omit. 12. to F2F3F4 I too Fi. 

3. In a most dear particular : with close personal affection. 

5. knee : make your way upon your knees. 

6. coy'd : disdained. The verb ' coy ' meant originally ' render 
quiet,' 'calm'; then 'stroke soothingly,' 'caress' (as in A Midsum- 
mer Might ^s Dream, IV, i, 2) ; then 'affect reserve toward,' 'have an 
aversion for.' 

163 



l64 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

Till he had forg'd himself a name o' th' fire 
Of burning Rome. 

Menenius. Why, so: you have made good work: 15 
A pair of tribunes, that have rack'd for Rome, 
To make coals cheap : a noble memory ! 

CoMiNius. I minded him how royal 't was to pardon 
When it was less expected. He replied. 
It was a bare petition of a state 20 

To one whom they had punish'd. 

Menenius. Very well ; 

Could he say less .? 

CoMiNius. I offered to awaken his regard 
For 's private friends : his answer to me was. 
He could not stay to pick them in a pile 25 

Of noisome musty chaff : he said, 't was folly. 
For one poor grain or two, to leave unburnt 
And still to nose th' offence. 

Menenius. For one poor grain or two .'* 

I am one of those : his mother, wife, his child, 
And this brave fellow too, we are the grains : 30 

You are the musty chaff, and you are smelt 
Above the moon. We must be burnt for you. 

SiciNius. Nay, pray, be patient : if you refuse your aid 
In this so never-needed help, yet do not 
Upbraid 's with our distress. But sure, if you 35 

Would be your country's pleader, your good tongue, 
More than the instant army we can make. 
Might stop our countryman. 

16. rack'd for Pope | wrack'd for Ff I wreck'd fair Dyce. 

16-17. rack'd . . . cheap. Who will want coals when the city is 
burning (line 14)? — memory. As in IV, v, 72. 



SCENE I CORIOLANUS 165 

Menenius. No, I '11 not meddle. 

SiciNius. Pray you go to him. 

Menenius. What should I do ? 

Brutus. Only make trial what your love can do 40 

For Rome, towards Martius. 

Menenius. Well, and say that Martius 

Return me, as Cominius is return'd. 
Unheard ; what then ? 
But as a discontented friend, grief-shot 
With his unkindness ? say 't be so .'* 

SiciNius. Yet your good will 45 

Must have that thanks from Rome, after the measure 
As you intended well. 

Menenius. I '11 undertake 't : 

I think he '11 hear me. Yet, to bite his lip 
And hum at good Cominius, much unhearts me. 
He was not taken well ; he had not din'd : 50 

The veins unfill'd, our blood is cold, and then 
We pout upon the morning, are unapt 
To give or to forgive ; but when we have stuff'd 
These pipes and these conveyances of our blood 
With wine and feeding, we have suppler souls 55 

Than in our priest-like fasts : therefore I '11 watch him 
Till he be dieted to my request. 
And then I '11 set upon him. 

Brutus. You know the very road into his kindness. 
And cannot lose your way. 

Menenius. Good faith, I '11 prove him, 60 

47. As: which. Qi.JtcUus Casar, I, ii, 33. See Abbott, § 280. 
50. taken well : approached opportunely. This speech is appro- 
priate in a speaker who is confessedly convivial. Cf. II, i, 45-47. 



l66 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

Speed how it will. I shall ere long have knowledge 

Of my success. [£xt/] 

CoMiNius. He '11 never hear him. 

SiCINIUS. Not? 

CoMiNius. I tell you, he does sit in gold, his eye 
Red as 't would burn Rome ; and his injury 
The gaoler to his pity. I kneel'd before him ; 65 

'T was very faintly he said ' Rise ' : dismiss 'd me 
Thus, with his speechless hand. What he would do, 
He sent in writing after me : what he would not, 
Bound with an oath to yield to his conditions : 
So that all hope is vain, 70 

Unless his noble mother, and his wife, 
Who, as I hear, mean to solicit him 
For mercy to his country : therefore let 's hence. 
And with our fair entreaties haste them on. [£xeunf] 

61. Speed: fare. Cf. The Merchant of Venice^ V, i, 115. 

63. sit in gold. Cf. Antony and Cleopatra, III, vi, 4-5 : " Cleopatra 
and himself in chairs of gold Were publicly enthron'd." " The am- 
bassadors that were sent were Martins' familiar friends and acquaint- 
ance, who looked at the least for a courteous welcome of him, as of 
their familiar friend and kinsman. Howbeit they found nothing 
less, for at their coming they were brought through the camp to 
the place where he was set in his chair of state, with a marvellous 
and an unspeakable majesty, having the chiefest men of the Volsces 
about him." — Plutarch. 

64-65. his . . . pity : the wrong done him locked up his pity. 

67-69. What . . . conditions : what he would grant was stated in 
the written terms for surrender ; in the other points he bound the 
Romans to yield to his conditions. ' What he would not ' is gram- 
matically the object of 'bound.' 



SCENE II CORIOLANUS 167 

Scene II. E^itrance to the Volscian camp before Rome 
Tzvo Watch 011 guard 

Enter to them, Menenius 

1 Watch. Stay : whence are you ? 

2 Watch. Stand, and go back. 
Menenius. You guard like men ; 't is well. But by your 

leave, 
I am an officer of state, and come 
To speak with Coriolanus. 

I Watch. From whence ? 

Menenius. From Rome. 

1 Watch. You may not pass, you must return : our 

general 5 

Will no more hear from thence. 

2 Watch. You '11 see your Rome embrac'd with fire, 

before 
You '11 speak with Coriolanus. 

Menenius. Good my friends, 

If you have heard your general talk of Rome, 
And of his friends there, it is lots to blanks 10 

My name hath touch'd your ears : it is Menenius. 

I Watch. Be it so ; go back : the virtue of your name 
Is not here passable. 

Scene II Rowe. — Entrance ... i Wat. Ff | First Sen. (Sentinel) 

Rome Camb | Ff omit. — Two . . . Camb. 

Menenius | Enter Menenius to the 2. 2 Watch (and elsewhere) | 

Watch or Guard Ff. 2 Wat. Ff I Sec. Sen. Camb. 

I. I Watch (and elsewhere) | 4 From whence?] Whence? Pope. 

8. Good my friends : my good friends. See Abbott, § 13. 
10. lots to blanks: "a thousand to one." — Murray. A Mot' is a 
prize ; a ' blank ' is nothing. 



l68 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

Menenius. I tell thee, fellow, 

Thy general is my lover : I have been 

The book of his good acts, whence men have read 15 

His fame unparallel'd, haply amplified ; 
For I have ever verified my friends 
(Of whom he 's chief) with all the size that verity 
Would without lapsing suffer : nay, sometimes, 
Like to a bowl upon a subtle ground 20 

I have tumbled past the throw, and in his praise 
Have almost stamp'd the leasing. Therefore, fellow, 
I must have leave to pass. 

1 Watch. Faith, sir, if you had told as many lies in his 
behalf as you have uttered words in your own, you should 
not pass here : no, though it were as virtuous to lie as to 
live chastely. Therefore go back. 27 

Menenius. Prithee, fellow, remember my name is Menen- 
ius, always factionary on the party of your general. 

2 Watch. Howsoever you have been his liar, as you say 
you have, I am one that, telling true under him, must say 
you cannot pass. Therefore go back. 32 

Menenius. Has he din'd, canst thou tell ? for I would 
not speak with him till after dinner. 

I Watch. You are a Roman, are you ? 35 

i6. haply Hanmer | happely F1F2 I happily F3F4. 

17. verified : stood up for, supported. Cf. Kmg John, II, i, 277. 

20. subtle : deceptive, treacherously smooth. Steevens quotes Ben 
Jonson's Chloridia : " Upon Tityus' breast . . . counted the subtlest 
bowling-ground in all Tartarus." 

21. tumbled past the throw : overshot the mark. 

22. stamp'd the leasing : given currency to untruth. 
29. factionary on : taking your stand on the side of. 



SCENE II CORIOLANUS 169 

Menenius. I am, as thy general is. 

I Watch. Then you should hate Rome, as he does. Can 
you, when you have push'd out your gates the very defender 
of them, and, in a violent popular ignorance, given your enemy 
your shield, think to front his revenges with the easy groans 
of old women, the virginal palms of your daughters, or with 
the palsied intercession of such a decay'd dotant as you seem 
to be ? Can you think to blow out the intended fire your 
city is ready to flame in, with such weak breath as this .'* No, 
you are deceiv'd : therefore back to Rome, and prepare for 
your execution : you are condemn'd, our general has sworn 
you out of reprieve and pardon. 47 

Menenius. Sirrah, if thy captain knew I were here, he 
would use me with estimation. 

I Watch. Come, my captain knows you not. 50 

Menenius. I mean, thy general. 

I Watch. My general cares not for you. Back, I say, 
go ; lest I let forth your half -pint of blood. Back, that 's 
the utmost of your having ; back ! 

Menenius. Nay, but, fellow, fellow — 55 

Enter Coriolanus with Aufidius 

Coriolanus. What 's the matter ? 

Menenius. Now, you companion, I '11 say an errand for 
you : you shall know now that I am in estimation ; you shall 

42. dotant F1F2F3 I dotard F4. 57. errand Pope I arrant F1F2F3 I 

48. thy Fi I the F2F3F4. errant F4. 

41. palms : hands held up in supplication. 

42. dotant. A present participle, and therefore active, ' one who 
dotes ' (not a ' dotard '). Cf. ' mendicant,' ' one who begs.' 

57. companion: fellow. Used depreciatingly. See note, IV, v, 12. 



I/O THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

perceive that a Jack guardant cannot office me from my son 
Coriolanus : guess, but by my entertainment with him, if 
thou stand'st not i' th' state of hanging, or of some death 
more long in spectatorship, and crueller in suffering; behold 
now presently, and swoon for what 's to come upon thee. 
[To Coriolanus] The glorious gods sit in hourly synod 
about thy particular prosperity, and love thee no worse than 
thy old father Menenius does 1 O my son, my son ! thou art 
preparing fire for us ; look thee, here 's water to quench it 
I was hardly moved to come to thee : but being assured none 
but myself could move thee, I have been blown out of your 
gates with sighs ; and conjure thee to pardon Rome, and thy 
petitionary countrymen. The good gods assuage thy wrath, 
and turn the dregs of it upon this varlet here, this, who, 
like a block, hath denied my access to thee. 7:^ 

Coriolanus. Away ! 

Menenius. How? away? 75 

Coriolanus. Wife, mother, child, I know not. My affairs 
Are servanted to others : though I owe 
My revenge properly, my remission lies 
In Volscian breasts. That we have been familiar, 
Ingrate forgetfulness shall poison rather 80 

64. [Tl? Coriolanus] Ff omit. 

59. guardant : guarding, on guard. A term of heraldry. The ex- 
pression suggests 'Jack in office.' 

69. your. The Fourth Folio ' our ' is adopted by some editors. 

77. servanted. Cf. 'fielded,' I, iv, 12, and see note. 

77-78. owe My revenge properly : possess revenge as my right. 

78-79. my remission . . . breasts : any remission that I may make 
depends on the will of the Volscians. 

79-81. That . . . much : oblivious ingratitude shall kill our old 
friendship rather than pity shall give any sign how strong it was. 



SCENE II CORIOLANUS 171 

Than pity note how much. Therefore be gone. 
Mine ears against your suits are stronger than 
Your gates against my force. Yet, for I loved thee, 
Take this along ; I writ it for thy sake, [ Gives a letter\ 

And would have sent it. Another word, Menenius, 85 

I will not hear thee speak. This man, Aufidius, 
Was my belov'd in Rome : yet thou behold 'st. 
Aufidius. You keep a constant temper. 

[Exeunt Coriolanus and Aufidius] 

1 Watch. Now, sir, is your name Menenius ? 

2 Watch. 'T is a spell, you see, of much power : you 
know the way home again. 91 

1 Watch. Do you hear how we are shent for keeping 
your greatness back ? 

2 Watch. What cause, do you think, I have to swoon ? 

Menenius. I neither care for th' world, nor your gen- 
eral : for such things as you, I can scarce think there 's any, 
ye 're so slight. He that hath a will to die by himself fears 
it not from another : let your general do his worst. For you, 
be that you are, long; and your misery increase with your 
age ! I say to you, as I was said to. Away ! \_Exif\ 100 

1 Watch. A noble fellow, I warrant him. 

2 Watch. The worthy fellow is our general. He 's the 
rock, the oak not to be wind-shaken. [Exeunt] 

81. pity note Theobald | pitty : Manent (Manet Fi) the Guard and 

Note Ff. Menenius Ff. 

84. \^Gives . . . ] Pope I Ff omit. 90-91. Verse in Ff. 

88. {Exeunt . . , ] Capell | Exeunt. 103. [Exeunt] Exit Watch Ff. 

92. Shent: rebuked. Cf. Hamlet, III, ii, 416; Twelfth Night, IV, 
ii, 112. 

97. slight: insignificant, d. Julius Ccesar, IV, iii, 37. — by him- 
self : by his own hands. 



1/2 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

Scene III. The tent ^Coriolanus 

Enter Coriolanus, Aufidius, and others 

CoRiOLANUS. We will before the walls of Rome to-morrow 
Set down our host. My partner in this action, 
You must report to th' Volscian lords, how plainly 
I have borne this business. 

Aufidius. Only their ends 

You have respected ; stopp'd your ears against 5 

The general suit of Rome ; never admitted 
A private whisper, no, not with such friends 
That thought them sure of you. 

Coriolanus. This last old man. 

Whom with a crack'd heart I have sent to Rome, 
Lov'd me above the measure of a father, lo 

Nay, godded me indeed. Their latest refuge 
Was to send him ; for whose old love I have. 
Though I show'd sourly to him, once more offer'd 
The first conditions, which they did refuse 
And cannot now accept ; to grace him only 1 5 

That thought he could do more, a very little 
I have yielded to. Fresh embassies and suits. 
Nor from the state nor private friends, hereafter 
Will I lend ear to. Ha ! what shout is this ? \Shout within?^ 

Scene III Pope. — The . . . Co- Coriolanus and Auffidius (Aufidius 
RIOLANUS Camb | Ff omit. F4) Ff. 

I. £nier . . . others CapelllEnter 4. I have Ff | I've Pope. 

3. plainly: openly, frankly, without artifice. Ci. Richard III,l,\,ii?). 
8-9. old man . . . crack'd heart. Cf. KingLear^ II, i, 92 : " O madam, 
my old heart is crack'd, it's crack'd." 

II. godded : idolized. Used by Shakespeare nowhere else. 



SCENE III CORIOLANUS 1 73 

Shall I be tempted to infringe my vow 20 

In the same time 't is made ? I will not. 

Enter, in mourning habits, Virgilia, Volumnia, leadifig 
young Martius, Valeria, aiid Attendants 

My wife comes foremost ; then the honour'd mould 

Wherein this trunk was fram'd, and in her hand 

The grandchild to her blood. But out, affection ! 

All bond and privilege of nature, break ! 25 

Let it be virtuous to be obstinate. 

What is that curtsy worth .? Or those doves' eyes, 

Which can make gods forsworn ? I melt, and am not 

Of stronger earth than others : my mother bows. 

As if Olympus to a molehill should 30 

22. Enter . . .Attendants Malone | 25. nature, Capell | Nature Ff. 

Enter Virgilia, Volumnia, Valeria, 27. doves' Steevens | doves Ff I 

yong Martius, with Attendants Ff. dove's Rowe. 

20-37. " Her answer ended, she took her daughter-in-law and, 
Martius' children with her, and being accompanied with all the 
other Roman ladies, they went in troup together unto the Volsces' 
camp : whom when they saw, they of themselves did both pity and 
reverence her, and there was not a man among them that once durst 
say a word unto her. Now was Martius set then in his chair of state, 
with all the honours of a general, and when he had spied the women 
coming afar off, he marvelled what the matter meant : but afterwards 
knowing his wife which came foremost, he determined at the first to 
persist in his obstinate and inflexible rancour. But overcome in the 
end with natural affection, and being altogether altered to see them, 
his heart would not serve him to tarry their coming to his chair, but 
coming down in haste he went to meet them, and first he kissed his 
mother, and embraced her a pretty while, then his wife and little 
children." — Plutarch. 

30. Olympus. A mountain in Thessaly, on which dwelt the gods 
of Greek mythology. Cf. line 46 and IV, ii, 53, where Volumnia 
likens herself to Juno. 



1/4 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

In supplication nod : and my young boy 

Hath an aspect of intercession, which 

Great nature cries * Deny not.' Let the Volsces 

Plough Rome, and harrow Italy : I '11 never 

Be such a gosling to obey instinct ; but stand 35 

As if a man were author of himself. 

And knew no other kin. 

ViRGiLiA. My lord and husband ! 

CoRiOLANUS. These eyes are not the same I wore in 
Rome. 

ViRGiLiA. The sorrow that delivers us thus chang'd, 
Makes you think so. 

CoRiOLANUs. Like a dull actor now, 40 

I have forgot my part, and I am out. 
Even to a full disgrace. Best of my flesh, 
Forgive my tyranny ; but do not say 
For that, ' Forgive our Romans.' O, a kiss 
Long as my exile, sweet as my revenge ! 45 

Now, by the jealous queen of heaven, that kiss 
I carried from thee, dear ; and my true lip 
Hath virgin'd it e'er since. You gods ! I prate 
And the most noble mother of the world 
Leave unsaluted : sink, my knee, i' th' earth ; \Kneels\ 50 
Of thy .deep duty more impression show 
Than that of common sons. 

48. prate Pope Camb Delius | pray Ff. 

41. am out : have forgotten my part. Cf. So7ineis, xxiii, 1-2 : 

As an unperfect actor on the stage, 
Who with his fear is put beside his part. 

46. jealous queen of heaven. Juno was the guardian of marriage and 
the avenger of infidelity. 



SCENE III CORIOLANUS 1/5 

VoLUMNiA. O, Stand up blest ! 

Whilst with no softer cushion than the flint 
I kneel before thee ; and unproperly 

Show duty, as mistaken all this while 55 

Between the child and parent. \K7ieels\ 

CoRiOLANUs. What 's this ? 

Your knees to me ? to your corrected son ? 
Then let the pebbles on the hungry beach 
Fillip the stars ; then let the mutinous winds 
Strike the proud cedars 'gainst the fiery sun, 60 

Murd'ring impossibility, to make 
What cannot be, slight work. 

VoLUMNiA. Thou art my warrior ; 

I holp to frame thee. Do you know this lady ? 

CoRiOLANUS. The noble sister of Publicola ; 
The moon of Rome, chaste as the icicle 65 

That 's curdled by the frost from purest snow 
And hangs on Dian's temple. Dear Valeria ! 

56. \^Kneels\ Rowe I Ff omit. 63. holp Pope | hope Ff. 

58. pebbles F4 I Pibbles F1F2F3. 66. curdled Ff | curdled Rowe. 

58-59. pebbles . . . Fillip the stars. Cf. The Tempest, I, ii, 4-5 : 
" But that the sea, mounting to th' welkin's cheek, Dashes the fire 
out." — hungry. An epithet of the sea. Q,i. Sonnets, ukin, ^-d: 

When I have seen the hungry ocean gain. 
Advantage on the kingdom of the shore. 

64. " Valeria, Publicola's own sister ; the self-same Publicola, who 
did such notable service to the Romans. . . . His sister Valeria was 
greatly honoured and reverenced among all the Romans : and did 
so modestly and wisely behave herself, that she did not shame nor 
dishonour the house she came of." — Plutarch, Life of Publicola. 

65-67. moon . . . chaste . . . Dian's. Diana, the virgin goddess of 
the moon, is the Roman ideal of modesty. Cf. I, i, 252 ; II, i, 89. 



176 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

VoLUMNiA. This is a poor epitome of yours, 
Which by th' interpretation of full time 
May show like all yourself. 

CoRiOLANUS. The god of soldiers, 70 

With the consent of supreme Jove, inform 
Thy thoughts with nobleness, that thou mayst prove 
To shame unvulnerable, and stick i' th' wars 
Like a great sea-mark, standing every flaw, 
And saving those that eye thee ! 

VoLUMNiA. Your knee, sirrah. 75 

CoRiOLANUS. That 's my brave boy ! 

VoLUMNiA. Even he, your wife, this lady, and myself. 
Are suitors to you. 

CORIOLANUS. I beseech you, peace : 
Or, if you 'Id ask, remember this before : 
The thing I have forsworn to grant may never 80 

Be held by you denials. Do not bid me 
Dismiss my soldiers, or capitulate 
Again with Rome's mechanics : tell me not 
Wherein I seem unnatural : desire not 
T' allay my rages and revenges with 85 

Your colder reasons. 

VoLUMNiA. O, no more, no more ! 

You have said you will not grant us any thing ; 
For we have nothing else to ask, but that 
Which you deny already : yet we will ask ; 

73. stick Fi I strike F2F3F4. 

68. This. Volumnia here points to young Martius. 
74. sea-mark: beacon. Cf. Othello, \, ii, 268. — flaw: gust. 
80-81. What I have sworn not to grant cannot be held by you as 
personal refusals. 



SCENE III CORIOLANUS 1 77 

That, if you fail in our request, the blame 90 

May hang upon your hardness : therefore hear us. 

CoRiOLANUS. Aufidius, and you Volsces, mark ; for we '11 
Hear nought from Rome in private. Your request ? 

VoLUMNiA. Should we be silent and not speak, our rai- 
ment 
And state of bodies would bewray what life 95 

92. "After he had thus lovingly received them, and perceiving 
that his mother Volumnia would begin to speak to him, he called the 
chiefest of the council of the Volsces to hear what she would say. 
Then she spake in this sort : ' If we held our peace, my son, and 
determined not to speak, the state of our poor bodies, and present 
sight of our raiment, would easily bewray to thee what life we have 
led at home, since thy exile and abode abroad ; but think now with 
thyself, how much more unfortunately f unfortunate ' in the edition 
of 1 61 2] than all the women living, we are come hither, consider- 
ing that the sight which should be most pleasant to all other to 
behold, spiteful fortune had made most fearful to us : making my- 
self to see my son, and my daughter here her husband, besieging 
the walls of his native country: so as that which is the only comfort 
to all other in their adversity and misery, to pray unto the gods and 
to call to them for aid, is the only thing which plungeth us into most 
deep perplexity. For we cannot, alas ! together pray both for victory 
to our country and for safety of thy life also : but a world of grievous 
curses, yea, more than any mortal enemy can heap upon us, are 
forcibly wrapt up in our prayers. For the bitter sop of most hard 
choice is offered thy wife and children, to forego one of the two : 
either to lose the person of thyself, or the nurse of their native 
country. For myself, my son, I am determined not to tarry till for- 
tune, in my lifetime, do make an end of this war. For if I cannot 
persuade thee, rather to do good unto both parties than to overthrow 
and destroy the one, preferring love and nature before the malice 
and calamity of wars, thou shalt see, my son, and trust unto it, thou 
shalt no sooner march forward to assault thy country, but thy foot 
shall tread upon thy mother's womb, that brought thee first into this 
world." — Plutarch. 



178 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

We have led since thy exile. Think with thyself 

How more unfortunate than all living women 

Are we come hither ; since that thy sight, which should 

Make our eyes flow with joy, hearts dance with comforts, 

Constrains them weep, and shake with fear and sorrow, loo 

Making the mother, wife, and child, to see 

The son, the husband, and the father, tearing 

His country's bowels out ; and to poor we 

Thine enmity 's most capital : thou barr'st us 

Our prayers to the gods, which is a comfort 105 

That all but we enjoy ; for how can we, 

Alas, how can we for our country pray. 

Whereto we are bound, together with thy victory, 

Whereto we are bound ? alack, or we must lose 

The country, our dear nurse, or else thy person, no 

Our comfort in the country. We must find 

An evident calamity, though we had 

Our wish, which side should win. For either thou 

Must, as a foreign recreant, be led 

With manacles through our streets, or else 115 

Triumphantly tread on thy country's ruin. 

And bear the palm for having bravely shed 

Thy wife and children's blood : for myself, son, 

I purpose not to wait on fortune till 

These wars determine : if I cannot persuade thee 120 

Rather to show a noble grace to both parts 

Than seek the end of one, thou shalt no sooner 

97. all Fi I F2F8F4 omit. 115. through Ff | thorough Johnson, 

103. to poor we. The inflections of personal pronouns are fre- 
quently neglected or misused. See Abbott, §§ 205-216. 

120. determine : come to a close. Cf. Ill, iii, 43, and see note. 



SCENE III CORIOLANUS 179 

March to assault thy country than to tread 
(Trust to 't, thou shalt not) on thy mother's womb, 
That brought thee to this world. 

ViRGiLiA. Ay, and mine, 125 

That brought you forth this boy, to keep your name 
Living to time. 

Boy. a shall not tread on me : 
I '11 run away till I am bigger, but then I '11 fight. 

CoRiOLANUs. Not of a woman's tenderness to be. 
Requires nor child nor woman's face to see : 130 

I have sat too long. \I<ising\ 

VoLUMNiA. Nay, go not from us thus : 

If it were so that our request did tend 
To save the Romans, thereby to destroy 
The Volsces whom you serve, you might condemn us. 
As poisonous of your honour. No; our suit 135 

Is that you reconcile them : while the Volsces 
May say ' This mercy we have show'd,' the Romans, 
' This we receiv'd,' and each in either side 
Give the all-hail to thee, and cry, ' Be blest 
For making up this peace ! ' Thou know'st, great son, 140 
The end of war 's uncertain, but this certain. 
That if thou conquer Rome, the benefit 
Which thou shalt thereby reap is such a name 
Whose repetition will be dogg'd with curses ; 
Whose chronicle thus writ: ' The man was noble, 145 

But with his last attempt he wip'd it out, 
Destroy'd his country, and his name remains 

131. \Rising\ Capell | Ff omit. 
127. A : he. An obsolete or dialectic form, often written "a ' or ' a'.' 



l8o THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

To the ensuing age, abhorr'd.' Speak to me, son : 

Thou hast affected the fine strains of honour, 

To imitate the graces of the gods ; 1 50 

To tear with thunder the wide cheeks o' th' air, 

And yet to charge thy sulphur with a bolt 

That should but rive an oak. Why dost not speak ? 

Think'st thou it honourable for a noble man 

Still to remember wrongs ? Daughter, speak you : 155 

He cares not for your weeping. Speak thou, boy : 

Perhaps thy childishness will move him more 

Than can our reasons. There 's no man in the world 

More bound to 's mother, yet here he lets me prate 

Like one i' th' stocks. Thou hast never in thy life 160 

Show'd thy dear mother any courtesy ; 

When she, poor hen, fond of no second brood, 

Has cluck 'd thee to the wars, and safely home, 

Loaden with honour. Say my request 's unjust, 

And spurn me back : but if it be not so, 165 

Thou art not honest, and the gods will plague thee, 

149. fine Johnson | fiue Fi | five 152. charge Theobald | change Ff, 

F2F8F4 I first Rowe. 163. cluck 'd F2F3F4 I clock'd Fi. 

149-153. The general idea is of Omnipotence able to rend the 
universe in pieces, yet satisfied to charge its thunder-engines with 
a bolt that splits only an oak. " For the noblest and most amiable 
thing. . . is power mixed with gentleness, the reposing, self-restraining 
attitude of strength. These are ' the fine strains of honour,' these are 
'the graces of the gods.'" — J. R. Seeley. Cf. V, i, 18. The idea 
was a favorite one with Shakespeare. Cf. The Merchant of Venice^ 
IV, i, 195-197; Measiire for Measure, II, ii, 107-109. 

151. wide cheeks 0' th' air. Cf. " the cloudy cheeks of heaven," 
Richard II, III, iii, 57. 

162-163. " Caius Martins, . . . being left an orphan by his father, 
was brought up under his mother a widow." — Plutarch. 



SCENE III CORIOLANUS l8l 

That thou restrain'st from me the duty which 

To a mother's part belongs. He turns away : 

Down, ladies ; let us shame him with our knees. 

To his surname Coriolanus longs more pride 170 

Than pity to our prayers. Down : an end ; 

This is the last. So we will home to Rome, 

And die among our neighbours. Nay, behold 's ; 

This boy, that cannot tell what he would have. 

But kneels and holds up hands for fellowship, 175 

Does reason our petition with more strength 

Than thou hast to deny 't. Come, let us go : 

This fellow had a Volscian to his mother ; 

His wife is in Corioles, and his child 

Like him by chance. Yet give us our dispatch : 180 

I am hush'd until our city be afire, 

And then I '11 speak a little. \He holds her by the ha7id^ sileni\ 

Coriolanus. O mother, mother ! 

What have you done ? Behold, the heavens do ope, 
The gods look down, and this unnatural scene 
They laugh at. O my mother, mother ! O ! 185 

You have won a happy victory to Rome ; 
But, for your son, believe it, O, believe it. 
Most dangerously you have with him prevail'd, 
If not most mortal to him. But, let it come : 
Aufidius, though I cannot make true wars, 190 

169. him with F2F8F4 I him with him with Fl. 

170. longs : belongs. An obsolete, not a contracted, form. 

186-189. "And holding her hard by the right hand, 'Oh mother,' 
he said, ' you have won a happy victory for your country, but mortal 
and unhappy for your son : for I see myself vanquished by you 
alone.' " — Plutarch. 



l82 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

I '11 frame convenient peace. Now, good Aufidius, 
Were you in my stead, would you have heard 
A mother less ? or granted less, Aufidius ? 

Aufidius. I was mov'd withal. 

CoRiOLANUS. I dare be sworn you were : 

And, sir, it is no little thing to make 195 

Mine eyes to sweat compassion. But, good sir. 
What peace you '11 make, advise me : for my part, 
I '11 not to Rome, I '11 back with you ; and pray you. 
Stand to me in this cause. O mother ! wife ! 

Aufidius. [Aside] I am glad thou hast set thy mercy and 
thy honour 200 

At difference in thee : out of that I '11 work 
Myself a former fortune. 

CoRiOLANUS. Ay, by and by ; 

[To VOLUMNIA, ViRGILIA, &'^.] 

But we will drink together ; and you shall bear 

A better witness back than words, which we 

On like conditions will have counter-seal'd. 205 

192. stead F4 I steed F1F2F3. 203. [To Volumnia, Virgilia, 

200. [Aside] Rowe | Ff omit. &=€.] Rowe | Ff omit, 

196. Mine eyes to sweat compassion. "And nature so wrought with 
him that the tears fell from his eyes, and he could not keep himself 
from making much of them, but yielded to the affection of his blood, 
as if he had been violently carried with the fury of a most swift 
running stream." — Plutarch. 

202. Here Johnson introduced the stage direction, " The Ladies 
make signs to Coriolanus." 

203. drink together. A token of peace. Cf. 2 //enry IV, IV, ii, 62-65 ; 

and here, between the armies. 
Let 's drink together friendly, and embrace, 
That all their eyes may bear those tokens home, 
Of our restored love, and amity. 



SCENE IV CORIOLANUS 183 

Come enter with us. Ladies, yoii deserve 

To have a temple built you : all the swords 

In Italy, and her confederate arms. 

Could not have made this peace. [Exeunt] 

Scene IV. Rome. A public place 

Enter Menenius and Sicinius 

Menenius. See you yond coign o' th' Capitol, yond 
corner-stone ? 

Sicinius. Why, what of that ? 

Menenius. If it be possible for you to displace it with 
your little finger, there is some hope the ladies of Rome, 
especially his mother, may prevail with him. But I say there 
is no hope in 't : our throats are sentenc'd, and stay upon 
execution. 

Sicinius. Is 't possible that so short a time can alter the 
condition of a man ? 10 

Menenius. There is differency between a grub and a 

Scene IV Pope I Scene II I Rowe. i. yondlyond' F4lyon'd F1F2F3. 

— Rome . . .place Capell | Ff omit. — coign Capell | Coin Ff. 

206. Come enter. See note III, i, 174. 

207. "Whereupon the Senate ordained that the magistrates, to 
gratify and honour these ladies, should grant them all that they 
would require. And they only requested that they would build a 
temple of Fortune for the women." — Plutarch. This temple, called 
Fortuna MuKebris, is said to have stood on the Via Latina, at the 
fourth milestone, where Coriolanus met his mother. 

I. coign: corner. Cf. 'coign of vantage,' Macbeth, I, vi, 7. 
7. stay upon: wait upon, wait for. Cf. Measure for Measure, IV, 
i, 46-47- 

10. condition : disposition. Frequently so. Cf. II, iii, 93. 



1 84 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

butterfly; yet your butterfly was a grub. This Martius is 
grown from man to dragon : he has wings ; he 's more than 
a creeping thing. 

SiciNius. He lov'd his mother dearly. 1 5 

Menenius. So did he me : and he no more remembers 
his mother now than an eight-year-old horse. The tartness 
of his face sours ripe grapes : when he walks, he moves like 
an engine, and the ground shrinks before his treading. He 
is able to pierce a corslet with his eye, talks like a knell, and 
his hum is a battery. He sits in his state, as a thing made 
for Alexander. What he bids be done, is finish'd with his 
bidding. He wants nothing of a god hut eternity, and a 
heaven to throne in. 

SiciNius. Yes, mercy, if you report him truly. 25 

Menenius. I paint him in the character. Mark what 

mercy his mother shall bring from him : there is no more 

mercy in him than there is milk in a male tiger; that shall 

our poor city find : and all this is long of you. 

SiciNius. The gods be good unto us ! 30 

Menenius. No, in such a case the gods will not be good 
unto us. When we banish'd him, we respected not them ; 
and, he returning to break our necks, they respect not us. 

Enter a Messenger 

Messenger. Sir, if you 'Id save your life, fly to your house : 
The plebeians have got your fellow-tribune, 35 

19. engine : engine of war (such as a battering-ram); 
21-22. state : chair of state. — thing made for : image made to 
represent. 

26. in the character : in his true character. 

29. long of : on account of. Still used colloquially. 



SCENE IV CORIOLANUS ^ 185 

And hale him up and down, all swearing, if 
The Roman ladies bring not comfort home, 
They '11 give him death by inches. 

Enter another Messenger 

SiciNius. What 's the news ? 

2 Messenger. Good news, good news ! the ladies have 
prevail'd, 
The Volscians are dislodg'd, and Martins gone : 40 

A merrier day did never yet greet Rome, 
No, not the expulsion of the Tarquins. 

SiciNius. Friend, 

Art thou certain this is true ? is 't most certain ? 

2 Messenger. As certain as I know the sun is fire : 
Where have you lurk'd that you make doubt of it ? 45 

Ne'er through an arch so hurried the blown tide, 
As the recomforted through th' gates. Why, hark you ! 

\Triimpets ; hautboys; drums beat ; all together\ 
The trumpets, sackbuts, psalteries, and fifes. 
Tabors, and cymbals, and the shouting Romans, 
Make the sun dance. Hark you ! \A shout withiii\ 

Menenius. This is good news : 50 

I will go meet the ladies. This Volumnia 
Is worth of consuls, senators, patricians, 
A city full : of tribunes such as you, 
A sea and land full : you have pray'd well to-day : 
This morning, for ten thousand of your throats, 55 

I 'Id not have given a doit. Hark, how they joy ! 

\Sound stilly with the shouts'] 

50. Make the sun dance. An allusion to the popular belief that the 
sun danced on Easter Day. 



1 86 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

* SiciNius. First, the gods bless you for your tidings ; next, 
Accept my thankfulness. 

2 Messenger. Sir, we have all 

Great cause to give great thanks. 

SiciNius. They are near the city ? 

2 Messenger. Almost at point to enter. 

SiciNius. We '11 meet them, 

And help the joy. [Bxeunf] 6i 

Scene V. TAe same. A street near the gate 

Enter two Senators with Volumnia, Virgilia, Valeria, 6^^. 
passing over the stage, followed by Patricians, and others 

I Senator. Behold our patroness, the life of Rome ! 
Call all your tribes together, praise the gods. 
And make triumphant fires ; strew flowers before them : 
Unshout the noise that banish'd Martius ; 
Repeal him with the welcome of his mother ; 5 

Cry ' Welcome, ladies, welcome ! ' 

All. Welcome, ladies, 

Welcome! \^A flourish with drums and trumpets. Exeunt'] 

Scene V. The same . . . near the 4. Unshout Rowe I Unshoot Ff. 

gate Dycel Ff omit. 7. [. . . Exeunt'] F2F3F4 I Fi omits. 

I. Enter tzvo . . . The stage direction of the Folios is ' Enter two 
Senators, with Ladies, passing ouer the Stage, with other Lords.' 

2-7. " There was not a temple in the city but was presently set 
open, and full of men wearing garlands of flowers upon their heads, 
sacrificing to the gods. . . . And this common joy was yet more 
manifestly showed by the honourable courtesies the whole senate 
and people did bestow on their ladies." — Plutarch. 



SCENE VI CORIOLANUS 1 87 

Scene VI. Corioles. A public place 

Enter Tullus Aufidius, with Attendants 

AuFiDius. Go tell the lords o' th' city I am here ; 
Deliver them this paper : having read it, 
Bid them repair to th' market-place, where I, 
Even in theirs and in the commons' ears, 
Will vouch the truth of it. Him I accuse 5 

The city ports by this hath ent'red, and 
Intends t' appear before the people, hoping 
To purge himself with words : dispatch. 

[Exeunt Attendants] 

Enter three or four Conspirators of Khyidujs,^ faction 

Most welcome ! 

1 Conspirator. How is it with our general ? 
Aufidius. Even so 10 

As with a man by his own alms empoison'd, 
And with his charity slain. 

2 Conspirator. Most noble sir, 
If you do hold the same intent wherein 
You wish'd us parties, we '11 deliver you 
Of your great danger. 

Scene VI Dyce I Scene IV Rowe — A public place Theobald | Ff omit. 
I Scene V Pope. — Corioles \ Corioli 8. {^Exeunt Attendants] Malone I 

CamblAntium Rowe Globe I Ff omit. Ff omit. 

1-5. " Tullus, having procured many other of his confederacy, 
required Martius might be deposed from his estate, to render up 
account to the Volsces of his charge and government." — Plutarch. 

5. Him : he whom. The antecedent is attracted into the case which 
the omitted relative would have had. See Abbott, § 246. 



1 88 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

AuFiDius. Sir, I cannot tell : i s 

We must proceed as we do find the people. 

3 Conspirator. The people will remain uncertain whilst 
'Twixt you there 's difference ; but the fall of either 
Makes the survivor heir of all. 

AuFiDius. I know it, 

And my pretext to strike at him admits 20 

A good construction. I rais'd him, and I pawn'd 
Mine honour for his truth : who being so heighten'd, 
He watered his new plants with dews of flattery. 
Seducing so my friends ; and, to this end. 
He bow'd his nature, never known before 25 

But to be rough, unswayable, and free. 

3 Conspirator. Sir, his stoutness 
When he did stand for consul, which he lost 
By lack of stooping — 

AuFiDius. That I would have spoke of : 

Being banish'd for 't, he came unto my hearth ; 30 

Presented to my knife his throat : I took him. 
Made him joint-servant with me, gave him way 
In all his own desires, nay, let him choose 
Out of my files, his projects to accomplish. 
My best and freshest men, serv'd his designments 35 

In mine own person, holp to reap the fame 
Which he did end all his ; and took some pride 
To do myself this wrong : till at the last 
I seem'd his follower, not partner, and 

39. stooping — I stooping. Ff. 36. holp Fi 1 hope F2. 

37. end: gather in, harvest. The meaning is, that Coriolanus had 
managed to appropriate for his own exclusive use the whole harvest 
of renown which Aufidius had helped to gather and prepare. 



SCENE VI CORIOLANUS 1 89 

He wag'd me with his countenance, as if 40 

I had been mercenary. 

I Conspirator. So he did, my lord : 
The army marvell'd at it, and in the last, 
When he had carried Rome and that we look'd 
For no less spoil than glory — 

AuFiDius. There was it : 

For which my sinews shall be stretch'd upon him. 45 

At a few drops of women's rheum, which are 
As cheap as lies, he sold the blood and labour 
Of our great action ; therefore shall he die, 
And I '11 renew me in his fall. But hark I 49 

\Dru7ns and trumpets sounds with great shouts of thepeople\ 

1 Conspirator. Your native town you enter'd like a post, 
And had no welcomes home ; but he returns, 

Splitting the air with noise. 

2 Conspirator. And patient fools. 
Whose children he hath slain, their base throats tear 
With giving him glory. 

3 Conspirator. Therefore, at your vantage. 

Ere he express himself, or move the people 55 

40. wag'd F3F4 I wadg'd F1F2. 44. glory— F3F4 I Glory. F1F2. 

40. wag'd me : paid me wages, treated me as a dependent. 

46. rheum : tears. Cf. Much Ado Aboiit Nothing, V, ii, 85. 

50. like a post : as if he had been a common messenger. 

54-56. vantage . . . sword. " Tullus . . . thinking, if he let shp 
that present time, he should never recover the like and fit occasion 
again . . . fearing that, if he did let him speak, he would prove his 
innocency to the people, because amongst other things he had an 
eloquent tongue ; besides that the first good service he had done to 
the people of the Volsces did win him more favour than these last 
accusations could purchase him displeasure." — Plutarch. 



I90 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

With what he would say, let him feel your sword, 
Which we will second. When he lies along, 
After your way his tale pronounc'd shall bury 
His reasons with his body. 

AuFiDius. Say no more : 

Here come the lords. 60 

Enter the Lords of the city 

All the Lords. You are most welcome home. 

AuFiDius. I have not deserv'd it. 

But, worthy lords, have you with heed perused 
What I have written to you ? 

Lords. We have. 

I Lord. And grieve to hear 't : 

What faults he made before the last, I think 
Might have found easy fines : but there to end 65 

Where he was to begin, and give away 
The benefit of our levies, answering us 
With our own charge, making a treaty where 
There was a yielding : this admits no excuse. 

Aufidius. He approaches : you shall hear him. 70 

Enter Coriolanus, marching with drum a?id colours ; the 
Commoners being with him 

Coriolanus. Hail, lords ! I am return 'd your soldier ; 

57. we will F1F4 I he will F2F3. 7i- Scene VI Pope. 

58. your . . . pronounc'd: your version of his conduct. 

67-68. answering us With our own charge : rendering us no other 
account than the costs of the war. 

71. Hail, lords. " The people hereupon called a common council, 
in which assembly there were certain orators appointed that stirred 



SCENE VI CORIOLANUS 191 

No more infected with my country's love 

Than when I parted hence, but still subsisting 

Under your great command. You are to know, 

That prosperously I have attempted, and 75 

With bloody passage led your wars even to 

The gates of Rome, Our spoils we have brought home 

Doth more than counterpoise a full third part 

The charges of the action. We have made peace, 

With no less honour to the Antiates 80 

Than shame to th' Romans. And we here deliver, 

Subscrib'd by th' consuls and patricians. 

Together with the seal o' th' senate, what 

We have compounded on. 

AuFiDius. Read it not, noble lords ; 

But tell the traitor, in the high'st degree 85 

He hath abus'd your powers. 

CoRiOLANUS. Traitor ? how now ? 

AuFiDius. Ay, traitor, Martins. 

CoRiOLANUS. Martius ? 

AuFiDius. Ay, Martius, Caius Martius : dost thou think 
I '11 grace thee with that robbery, thy stoFn name 
Coriolanus, in Corioles ? 90 

You lords and heads o' th' state, perfidiously 
He has betray'd your business, and given up, 

78. Doth Ff I Do Pope. 91. heads F1F2 I head F3F4. 

up the common people against him : and when they had told their 
tales, Martius rose up to make them answer. Now, notwithstanding 
the mutinous people made a marvellous great noise, yet when they 
saw him, for the reverence they bare unto his valiantness, they 
quieted themselves, and gave him audience to allege with leisure 
what he could for his purgation." — Plutarch, 



192 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

For certain drops of salt, your city Rome ; 

I say ' your city,' to his wife and mother, 

Breaking his oath and resolution, like 95 

A twist of rotten silk, never admitting 

Counsel o' th' war : but at his nurse's tears 

He whin'd and roar'd away your victory, 

That pages blush'd at him, and men of heart 

Look'd wondering each at others. 

CoRiOLANUS. Hear'st thou. Mars ? 100 

AuFiDius. Name not the god, thou boy of tears. 

CORIOLANUS. Ha ? 

AuFiDius. No more. 

CoRiOLANUS. Measureless liar, thou hast made my heart 
Too great for what contains it. ' Boy ! ' O slave ! 
Pardon me, lords, 't is the first time that ever 105 

I was forc'd to scold. Your judgments, my grave lords. 
Must give this cur the lie : and his own notion 
(Who wears my stripes impress 'd upon him, that 
Must bear my beating to his grave) shall join 
To thrust the lie unto him. 1 10 

I Lord. Peace, both, and hear me speak. 

CoRiOLANus. Cut me to pieces, Volsces ; men and lads. 
Stain all your edges on me. * Boy I ' false hound ! 
If you have writ your annals true, 't is there. 
That, like an eagle in a dove-cote, I 115 

100. others Ff | other Rowe Globe 106. scold Rowe I scoul'd F1F2 I 

Camb Delius. scould F3F4. 

102. No more : you are no better than a boy of tears. 
104. ' Boy ! * " The false interpretations put upon Coriolanus re- 
store much of our sympathy to him." — Chambers. 

107. notion : understanding. Its only meaning in Shakespeare. 



SCENE VI CORIOLANUS 193 

Flutter'd your Volscians in Corioles ; 
Alone I did it. ' Boy ! ' 

AuFiDius. Why, noble lords, 

Will you be put in mind of his blind fortune, 
Which was your shame, by this unholy braggart, 
Fore your own eyes and ears ? 

All Conspirators. Let him die for't. 120 

All the People. * Tear him to pieces ! ' ' Do it pres- 
ently 1 ' 'He kill'd my son ! ' ' My daughter ! ' * He kill'd 
my cousin Marcus ! ' ' He kill'd my father ! ' 

2 Lord. Peace, ho 1 no outrage ; peace I 
The man is noble, and his fame folds in 125 

This orb o' th' earth. His last offences to us 
Shall have judicious hearing. Stand, Aufidius, 
And trouble not the peace. 

CoRiOLANUS. O, that I had him, 

With six Aufidiuses, or more, his tribe, 
To use my lawful sword ! 

Aufidius. Insolent villain ! 130 

All Conspirators. Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill him ! 

[Both the Conspirators draw^ and kill Coriolanus, 
who falls. Aufidius stands on him\ 

Lords. Hold, hold, hold, hold 1 

116. Flutter'd F3F4 I Flatter'd F1F2. 

125-126. folds in . . . earth : extends beyond and around the world. 

127. judicious : judicial, impartial. Cf. King Lear, III, iv, 76. 

131. " Those that were of the conspiracy began to cry out that he 
was not to be heard, and that they would not suffer a traitor to usurp 
tyrannical power over the tribe of the Volsces, who would not yield 
up his state and authority. And in saying these words, they all fell 
upon him, and killed him in the market-place, none of the people 
once offering to rescue him." — Plutarch. 



194 THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE act v 

AuFiDius. My noble masters, hear me speak. 

1 Lord. O Tullus ! 

2 Lord. Thou hast done a deed whereat valour will weep. 

3 Lord. Tread not upon him. Masters all, be quiet ; 
Put up your swords. 135 

AuFiDius. My lords, when you shall know (as in this rage, 
Provok'd by him, you cannot) the great danger 
Which this man's life did owe you, you '11 rejoice 
That he is thus cut off. Please it your honours 
To call me to your senate, I '11 deliver 140 

Myself your loyal servant, or endure 
Your heaviest censure. 

1 Lord. Bear from hence his body. 
And mourn you for him. Let him be regarded 
As the most noble corse that ever herald 

Did follow to his urn. 

2 Lord. His own impatience 145 
Takes from Aufidius a great part of blame : 

Let 's make the best of it. 

Aufidius. My rage is gone, 

And I am struck with sorrow. Take him up : 
Help, three o' th' chiefest soldiers ; I '11 be one. 
Beat thou the drum, that it speak mournfully : 1 50 

Trail your steel pikes. Though in this city he 

138. owe you : possess for you, have in reserve for you. This 
meaning survives in the expression ' owe a grudge.' 

142-145. Bear ... his urn. " Howbeit it is a clear case, that this 
murder was not generally consented unto of the most part of the 
Volsces: for men came out of all parts to honour his body, and did 
honourably bury him ; setting out his tomb with great store of armour 
and spoils, as the tomb of a worthy person and great captain." — 
Plutarch. 



SCENE VI CORIOLANUS 195 

Hath widow'd and unchilded many a one, 
Which to this hour bewail the injury, 
Yet he shall have a noble memory. 

Assist [Exeunt, bearing the body ^Coriolanus. A dead 

march sounded\ 155 

155. {Exeunt . . . Coriolanus . . .] Exeunt . . . Martius . . . Ff. 

155. " Now Martius being dead, the whole state of the Volsces 
heartily wished him alive again. For, first of all, they fell out with 
the yEques (who were their friends and confederates) touching pre- 
eminence and place : and this quarrel grew on so far between 
them, that frays and murders fell out upon it one with another. 
After that, the Romans overcame them in battle, in which Tullus 
was slain in the field, and the flower of all their force was put to the 
sword : so that they were compelled to accept most shameful condi- 
tions of peace, in yielding themselves subject unto the conquerors, 
and promising to be obedient at their commandment." — Plutarch. 



INDEX 



I. WORDS AND PHRASES 



This Index includes the most important words, phrases, etc., explained in 
the notes. The figures in heavy-faced type refer to the pages ; those in plain 
type, to the lines containing what is explained. 



A: 179 127 
a: 55 114 
Abated: 127 132 
abram: 75 17 
absolute : 112 39 
abstract for concrete : 

4 16, 15 215-216 
abus'd : 92 58 
Act I, Scene i: 3 l 
Act IV, Scene ill: 

135 1 
act the woman : 70 93 
addition: 45 66 
adjectives in -ble : 22 2 
aediles : 99 173 
affection : 8 99 
after. . . here : 68 49-51 
Against all noble suf- 
ferance : 90 24 
Against . . . judgment : 

85 200 
aged custom : 83 163 
agued fear : 30 38 
A heart of wreck : 144 

86 
alla3dng Tiber: 5246-47 
All cause unborn: 97 

129 
all season'd office : 123 

64 
Allow : 122 45 
am out : 174 41 
analysis of scenes : 3 i 



and I know not : 15 212 
and that . . . his neck : 

121 29-30 
and they . . . palates 

theirs : 95 102-104 
Anon : 82 137 
answer ... to his ut- 
most peril : 109 324- 

325 
answering us With our 

own charge : 190 67- 

68 
Antiates : 37 53 
Antium (pronuncia- 
tion) : 2 10 
artery: 10 133 
articulate : 45 77 
As : 165 47 
As cause will be obey ' d : 

38 83 
As he hath ... all: 

161 46 
as he were flay'd : 35 

22 
As Hercules . . . fruit : 

155 90-100 
as our good wills: 63 

233 
as spacious . . . thing : 

154 67-68 
ass in compound with : 

52 55 

at a word : 27 106 
197 



At home . . . guard : 

48 25 
atone : 154 72 
attend: 118 138 
attended : 49 30 
audible : 150 222 
authority : 4 16 
avoid : 140 23 
bald : 99 165 
batten : 140 33 
battle : 37 51 
be off to them : 79 95 
be that I am : 47 5 
beam of sight: 110 5 
bear the knave : 121 33 
bear well?: 116 101 
beards . . . stuff a 

botcher's cushion : 

54 80-81 
Being naked, sick : 48 

20 
Beseech: 23 25,102216, 

236 
best: 45 77 
bisson conspectuities : 

53 60 
blank verse used to 

indicate heightened 

emotional intensity: 

9 109 
blood: 41 14 
bodily act: 19 5 
bolted : 109 321 



198 



THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 



both observe . . . anger : 

88 254-255 
' Boy ! ' : 192 104 
brace : 77 57 
breath of garlic-eaters : 

155 98 
briefly : 34 16 
bulks : 61 201 
but for : 36 42 
but he . . . utt'rance: 

161 48-49 
but one danger: 107 287 
by himself: 171 97 
By interims . . . gusts : 

34 5 
by particulars : 76 39 
by th' poll : 119 10 
Caius Martius Co- 

RIOLANUS (pronun- 
ciation and form) : 

22 
can : 52 54 
canker'd : 144 92 
canopy: 141 39 
capital : 124 81 
Capitol : 5 44 
caps and legs : 53 64 
carbonado : 148 188 
Cato's wish : 31 57 
cautelous: 130 33 
censure : 122 46 
censured : 51 22 
centuries : 39 3 
chair: 162 52 
Chambers on 'Boy!': 

192 104 
change of honours : 60 

189 
characters: 3 1 
charter: 41 14 
charters : 84 175 
chats him : 60 199 
clean kam : 107 303 
Clarke on The present 

wars : 18 253 
clip : 35 29 



clip the anvil of my 
sword: 145 lio-lll 

clutch'd : 123 71 

Cog : 118 133 

coign: 183 1 

Coleridge on Aufi- 
dius's character: 48 
17-27 

Come enter: 183 206 

Come try : 102 225 

comfortable : 22 2 

CoMiNius (pronunci- 
ation) : 2 4 

companion : 169 57 

companions : 139 12 

conclude: 98 145 

condition : 79 93, 183 
10 

confirm' d : 24 57 

confound: 35 17 

confusion: 95 lio, 100 
190 

constructions with ' so 
. . . as,' 'as . . . as,': 
52 42-43 

contemn . . . give: 74 
154-155 

contriv'd : 123 63 

convented Upon : 68 
51-52 

conveying gusts : 34 5 

CoRiOLANUS rises : 69 
63 

Corioles (pronuncia- 
tion and form) : 2 9 

Corioles gates: 57 154 

Cotus : 139 3 

courage: 125 92 

coy'd: 163 6 

crab-trees: 59 179 

crack : 25 65 

crack' d drachma : 32 5 

cranks and offices: 10 
132 

cry: 126 120, 158 147 

cupboarding: 8 95 



Death ... die : 57 151- 
152 

Death on the wheel: 
110 2 

debile : 44 48 

deed-achieving honour : 
58 164 

demerits : 18 267 

Deucalion : 54 84 

deserved : 107 291 

determin'd of : 67 34 

determine : 122 43, 178 
120 

Directitude : 149 209 

disbench'd: 69 68 

discover him their op- 
posite: 66 19 

disease : 26 102 

disgest: 11 145 

dishonour' d rub : 92 60 

Dispropertied : 64 239 

distinctly billeted : 137 
39 

distinctly ranges : 101 
206 

divines lose by 'em: 
77 54 

dotant : 169 42 

double comparatives 
and superlatives: 96 
120-128 

doubt the change on 't : 
98 152 

dramatic construc- 
tion: 3 1 

Dramatis Personae : 
2i 

drawn your number : 
88 248 

drink together: 182203 

either : 120 1 4 

Elizabethan colour- 
ing : 64 254-256 

Embarquements : 48 22 

empiricutic: 55 109 

end: 188 37 



INDEX 



199 



Enforce: 86 214, 119 3, 
120 21 

engine : 184 19 
Enter two Senators : 

186 1 
Envied against : 125 95 
envy : 122 57 
ere almost Rome: 21 

24 
Ere . . . power: 111 23 
estimate: 126 114 
ethical dative : 10 122 
eunuch: 117 114 
evident : 162 52 
exposture : 130 36 
fable of "The Belly 

and the Members ": 

11 143-144 
factionary on : 168 29 
faint puling: 134 52 
fair hands : 156 117 
false fac'd soothing : 

43 44 
fame and envy : 40 4 
fatigate: 72 114 
fear Lesser his person : 

38 69-70 
feebling : 13 190 
feel thy pride : 117 126 
fidius'd : 56 123 
fielded : 28 12 
fine spot : 24 49-50 
fine strains of honour : 

180 149-153 
first : 130 33 
flaw: 176 74 
flour: 11 140 
fob off : 8 89 
folds in . . . earth : 193 

125-126 
fond : 129 26 
For an end : 63 235 
for him: 48 18 
for your particular : 

159 13 
Fore me: 9 115 



forms in -ate and omis- 
sion of -ed after d 
and if : 8 98 

forset-seller : 63 66 

forsooth: 115 85 

Fortuna Muliebris 
(temple) : 183 207 

fortune's cunning: 128 
7-9 

forty : 104 243 

fouler . . . fail : 162 55 

four: 38 84 

foxship : 133 18 

fragments : 15 217 

free as is the wind : 
46 89 

Friends . . . Unsepa- 
rable : 138 13-16 

from the canon : 94 90 

full quit of : 144 84 

Galen : 55 108 

gan : 72 112 

general louts : 114 66 

generosity : 14 206 

gentry : 98 144 

gilded : 25 58 

gird : 17 251 

give : 44 55 

give him good report : 
5 30-31 

gladly quak'd: 41 6 

Go call : 99 174 

godded: 172 11 

God-den: 54 85, 151 20, 
21 

good : 4 16 

good condition : 47 2 

Good my friends : 167 8 

gown of humility : 76 36 

grafted to your relish : 
59 180 

gratify : 67 37 

greater poll : 97 134 

Greece : 95 107 

guardant: 170 59 

gulf: 115 91 



Ha?: 54 94 

Had circumvention: 196 

handkercher : 64254-256 

happy : 161 39 

hath insurrections: 136 

12 
hath . . . many great 

men: 65 7 
have : 19 4, 66 25 
have bale: 12 158 
have cushions by you : 

95 101 
have their voices: 73 

137 
Have with you : 65 261 
havoc : 106 274-275 
He that . . . mine act : 

42 18-19 
Hear me speak: 106 276 
heart of wreak : 144 86 
helms : 7 73 
Here . . . voices: 81 

120-125 
here 's many : 44 49 
Him: 187 5 
his : 67 37 

his infection : 108 309 
his . . . pity : 166 64-65 
his place : 57 141 
his receipt : 9 107 
hoarded plague 0' th* 

gods : 132 11 
Hob and Dick: 80 111 
horn and noise : 94 95 
hospitable canon : 48 26 
house-keepers: 24 49- 

50 
How the dispatch is 

made : 19 272-273 
how 't is held : 48 28 
humorous : 52 45 
hunt With modest war- 
rant : 106 274-275 
Hydra : 94 93 
I am in this Your wife, 

your son: 114 64-65 



200 



THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 



I'd . . . slaves: 14 

193-194 
I '11 go . . . bring him : 

109 223 
I talk of that, that 

know it : 124 84 
I' th» part: 47 7 
i' th' truth 0' th' : 120 

18 

I wish . . . fully: 90 

19-20 
I would the capitol : 

103 238-240 
If they . . . your army : 

21 28-29 
ignorant to see 't : 83 

169 
in: 19 2, 115 91 
In a most dear partic- 
ular : 163 3 
In arms . . . heart : 35 

30 
In being Coriolanus : 

139 10 
in blood : 149 211 
in the character of: 

184 26 
in the entertainment : 

137 39 
in what . . . his singu- 
larity : 19 272-273 
inherent: 117 123 
integrity: 98 159 
Irons of a doit : 32 6 
it lies you on: 113 52 
it 's no matter for that : 

147 166 
jealousqueenof heaven: 

174 46 
Johnson on the fable 

of the bag: 51 37-39 
Jove's own book: 107 

292 
judicious: 193 127 
jump: 98 154 
knee : 163 5 



Knight on the First 
and Second Citi- 
zens: 6 53 

Know thou first: 145 
114 

larum : 28 9 

leads fill'd . . . variable 
complexions: 61 202- 
203 

let . . . flatter: 93 
67-68 

Let go: 111 18 

Let . . . words : 97 132- 
133 

letters : 56 126 

lick The sweet: 98 156- 
157 

like a post: 189 50 

Like graves . . . church- 
yard : 122 51 

little apt: 112 29 

lockram: 61 200 

lonely dragon : 129 30- 
31 

long of: 184 29 

longs: 181 170 

lots to blanks : 167 10 

lull: 117 115 

lungs : 9 103 

lurch' d: 71 98 

maims Of shame: 144 
87-88 

made a head for : 70 85 

made new head : 89 l 

make good: 33 12 

Make the sun dance : 
185 50 

make us ... it out : 
68 46-48 

Making . . . yourselves : 
126 130 

malkin: 60 199 

Malone on minute de- 
scriptions : 49 31 

mammock' d : 25 62 

Man-ent'redthus: 71 96 



mankind : 132 16-18 

many -headed multi- 
tude: 76 15 

map of my microcosm : 
52 58-59 

Masters . . . people: 
69 74 

match : 78 76-77 

me: 10 122 

meal and bran: 109 
321 

measles : 93 78 

memory: 143 72, 164 
16-17 

Menenius Agrippa 
(pronunciation): 25 

Merely : 108 304 

metaphor of a high- 
spirited horse: 84 
190-193 

misery: 72 124 

moe: 81 120 

monster'd : 69 74 

moon . . . chaste . . . 
Dian's : 175 65-67 

morsel . . . before : 41 
10-11 

mortal: 71 108-109 

moths : 26 81 

movers : 32 4 

mull'd: 150 223 

multitudinous tongue: 
98 156 

Murray on briefly : 34 
16 

Murray on demerits: 
18 267 

Must I . . . sconce: 116 
99-100 

musty superfluity: 15 

221 

mutiners : 17 245 
My gracious silence : 

58 166 
my remission : 170 78- 

79 



INDEX 



20I 



needless vouches: 80 

112 
nerves : 10 133 
nervy: 57 151-152 
nicely gawded : 61 208 
No more : 192 102 
not: 125 97 
Not unlike Each way, 

to better yours: 92 

48-49 
nothing doubt: 26 96 
notion : 192 107 
Now humble: 115 79 
0, me alone : 38 76 
that . . . good selves : 

51 37-39 
oaken garland: 55 117 
object of our misery: 

4 19-20 
of a doit: 138 17 
Of no allowance to : 

113 57 
of noble touch : 130 49 
Of the same house . . . 

Censorinus : 87 238- 

240 
off : 68 57 
Officious . . . seconds: 

40 14-15 
old man . . . crack' d 

heart: 172 8-9 
old wit : 104 251 
Olympus : 173 30 
on: 119 4 
on his knee : 70 92 
On safe-guard : 89 9 
on 's heart . . . glad : 

59 176-177 
One fire drives out one 

fire : 162 54 
one on 's : 70 78 
One time will owe an- 
other : 104 242 
Once: 75 l, 14 
Only my wars with 

him : 16 230 



ordinance: 110 12 

osprey : 160 34 

ostentation : 39 86 

our better mirth: 26 
102 

Our swifter composi- 
tion : 89 3 

out: 145 122 

owe : 118 130 

owe My revenge prop- 
erly : 170 77-78 

owe you : 194 138 

painted . . . destiny: 
71 108-109 

palms : 169 41 

palt'ring : 92 58 

parasite's silks: 44 45 

participate : 8 98 

particular : 144 87-88 

pent : 124 89 

Phoebus' : 61 209 

physical : 33 18 

pick : 14 195 

pikes : 4 22 

plainly : 172 3 

plebeians (pronuncia- 
tion) : 41 7 

plebeii : 84 179 

plot: 116 102 

points : 157 125 

poU'd: 149 202 

poorest piece : 121 32 

portance : 86 219 

possess'd: 56 124 

ports : 39 i 

potch at : 47 15 

pound us up : 28 17 

practice: 130 33 

preparation: 20 15 

present: 101212,12021 

presently : 88 248, 120 
12 

press'd a power : 20 9 

pretences : 20 20 

pride . . . war: 161 
37-45 



prize their hours : 32 4 
progeny : 40 12 
proper : 44 57 
provand : 64 242 
proverbs : 14 200 
punctuation: 12 167, 
2931-32,74156,7634, 
99 167-168, 114 65-66 
put upon 't : 64 247 
put you . . . fortune : 

113 60 
put you to 't : 16 224 
puts forth: 17 245-246 
putting on : 88 247 
quarry: 14 193-194. 
quarter'd : 14 193-194 
rack'd . . . cheap: 164 

16-17 
rakes : 4 22 
Ransoming him, or 

pitying : 36 36 
rapture : 60 198 
rascal . . . worst in 

blood to run: 11 154 
rats : 12 157 
reason : 44 58 
red pestilence: 129 13 
reechy: 61 200 
remain: 31 62 
remains : 82 135 
repetition: 5 42 
retire myself : 23 25 
rheum : 189 46 
Rights . . .fail: 162 55 
Rome gates : 125 104 
roted: 113 55 
ruth : 13 192 
'S death : 15 212 
sanctifies . . . hand: 

148 196 
sat : 123 70 
scabs : 12 161 
Scaling : 88 244 
scarr'd . . . splinters: 

145 110 
Scene : 2 8 



202 



THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 



sea-mark: 176 74 
Sea-metaphors : 128 

6-7 
seal : 80 103, 97 142 
second name : 167 125 
seconds : 30 43 
seld-shown: 61 204 
sennet: 57 153 
sensible : 26 81 
sensibly . . . senseless : 

31 53 
servanted: 170 77 
set up the bloody flag : 

63 70 
shent: 171 92 
Should they . . . with 

death : 42 29-31 
Shouting their emula- 
tion : 14 209 
shunless: 71 108-109 
SiciNius Velutus 

(pronunciation): 26 
side: 13 188 
similarity of old form 

of letter s with that 

of/: 15 213 
sinew: 10 133 
single: 51 36 
singly : 70 84 
singular verb preced- 
ing plural subject: 

136 12 
sit in gold : 166 63 
sithence: 91 47 
slight: 171 97 
So . . . done : 161 49-53 
sooth'd : 69 70 
sometime : 129 23 
sound: 35 30 
south the city mills: 

49 31 
south wind : 29 30 
southward . . . fog . . , 

rotten dews : 76 26- 

29 
sowl : 149 200 



speak him home: 71 lOO 
Speed: 166 61 
stage direction insert- 
ed by Johnson: 182 

202 
stale : 8 87 
stamp 'd the leasing : 

168 22 
stand upon't: 74 147 
state : 184 21-22 
stay upon: 183 7 
Steevens on The pres- 
ent ...: 18 253 
Still : 8 95, 63 237 
stoutness: 117 127 
struck . . . like a planet : 

72 110-111 
subtle : 168 20 
success : 18 255 
sufferance : 4 21 
suggest : 63 236 
Summon the town: 277 
surer : 12 J 67 
sword contending : 2441 
sworn brother : 79 92 
tag : 104 248 
take: 95 ill 
take in: 21 24, 113 59 
Take my cap, Jupiter : 

55 97 
taken well : 165 50 
tent: 42 31, 103 236 
th' poorest piece: 121 

32 
th' right-hand file : 51 

22-23 
th* seat o' th' brain: 

10 131 
Than . . . deserve: 80 

109 
Than thou of them: 

117 125 
that justice did it: 13 

171 
That . . . much: 170 

79-81 



that want : 114 69 

that whatsoever god: 
61 210 

That's . . . good one: 
70 76 

The fires . . . fold in: 
123 68 

The present . . . devour 
him: 18 253 

The service . . . was : 
108 305-307 

The thing . . . denials : 
176 80-81 

their : 64 242 

their traitor : 123 69 

themes For insurrec- 
tion's arguing : 16 
215-216 

therefore : 85 212 

there 's : 56 129 

they charg'd : 156 112 

they have . . . little 
purpose: 115 88-89 

thing made for: 184 
21-22 

This: 101 207, 176 68 

this bonnet: 114 73 

this bosom-multiplied: 
97 131 

those who . . . and re- 
port : 66 23-26 

Thou hast... oak: 180 
149-153 

though but bastards 
and: 113 56 

thread: 96 124 

thus far: 114 74 

thwartings: 111 21 

Thy friend . . . highest: 
33 23-24 

Thy news : 34 9 

Thy valiantness was 
mine: 118 129 

Titus Lartius (pro- 
nunciation) : 2 3 

to be : 18 254 



INDEX 



203 



to be partly proud : 5 37 
to end it: 72 lae 
To hear : 42 29 
To hopeless restitution : 

90 16 
to poor we: 178 103 
To see inherited my 

very wishes : 60 190 
to's: 108 313 
to 's power: 63 237 
To th' pot : 30 47 
To undercrest . . . power : 

46 72-73 
told them home : 134 48 
took: 71 105 
touch'd: 84 186 
transported . . . attends 

you : 7 71-72 
transposition : 16 230 
tribes: 119 11 
trick: 138 21 
Triton : 94 89 
troth: 148 187 
true purchasing: 56 132 

TULLUS AUFIDIUS 

(pronunciation): 2 7 
tumbled pastthe throw: 

168 21 
'twere a concealment 

. . . modest: 42 21- 

25 
unbarb'd sconce: 116 

99-100 
unmeriting ... as : 52 

42-43 
Upon: 62 219 
Upon my party : 16 299 
upon your approbation: 

82 140 
use of source material: 

142 55-102 
usury: 7 77 
vail : 95 98 
valour: 17 245-246 
vaward : 37 53 
vein: 10 133 



vengeance: 65 5 
vent: 150 223 
verified: 168 17 
Verity on the citizen's 

kindness : 78 67-68 
very dog : 4 26 
virgin voice: 117 114 
virtue : 5 38 
voice of occupation : 

155 97 
voices: 75 1 
voided : 144 83 
Volumnia's advice to 

her son: 114 65-66 
vouches: 80 112 
vulgar station: 61 206 
wag'd me : 189 40 
wager: 27 1-7 
war: 22 12 
war . . . cheeks: 61 

207-208 
waved: 66 16 
waving thy head: 114 

77-78 
we labour'd ... on him : 

86 222-224 
weal: 84 176 
weal 0' th' common: 

11 146 
wealsmen: 52 51 
weigh : 69 71 
well-found: 67 41 
Were fit ... to claim : 

115 83 
What : 124 83, 19 4 
What . . . come: 119 5 
What . . . conditions : 

166 67-69 
when . . . wars: 43 

42-46 
where : 8 96 
Which: 114 77-78 
which That. ..to do't: 

62 220-222 
Who: 117 119 
wholesome : 77 56 



wide cheeks 0' th' air: 

180 151 
wife of Ulysses : 25 79 
Win upon power: 16 

215-216 
with a Trumpet : 32 4 
with his Amazonian 

chin : 70 88 
with measure : 72 120 
With only ... by him : 

48 18 
without: 98 144 
woollen vassals: 110 9 
woolvish toge : 80 lio 
worship: 97 142 
worth: 121 26 
wot : 129 27 
wounds . . . private: 

78 73 
You: 100 190 
you are ... It is: 63 

78-79 
You . . . belly: 10 136 
You . . . business : 92 

48 
you have made fair 

work: 155 100 
you herd . . . Plaster 

you o'er: 29 31-32 
you may ... is past: 

114 70-72 
you may, you may : 

76 31-32 
you must think . . . 

gain by you : 78 

67-68 
you wot one : 147 164 
youngly : 86 231 
your: 170 69 
your Corioles walls : 

40 8 
Your dangerous lenity: 

95 99 
your favour . . . your 

tongue: 135 9 
your form : 74 141 



204 



THE NEW HUDSON SHAKESPEARE 



your garland: 13 179 
your impediment : 7 68 
Your knees to them, 
not arms : 7 70 



your limitation : 82 134 
your own: 169 6 
your . . . pronounc'd: 
190 58 



Your virtue . . . 

12 169-171 
you 'st : 10 121 



did it ; 



II. QUOTATIONS FROM PLUTARCH 



battle of Lake Regil- 
lus : 22 12 

burial of Martius : 194 
142-145 

Censorinus: 87238-240 

cockle of insolence: 
93 69-71 

Consul Cominius and 
his cloven army : 
28 21 

corn given gratis : 96 
116-118 

custom before elec- 
tions : 62 225-227 

declaration of the sen- 
tence : 127 136-137 

dissension: 158 153- 
156 

eloquence of Martius: 
189 54-56 

Help Martius : 103 227 

inquiry concerning en- 
emy's line of battle: 
37 51 

killing of Coriolanus: 
193 131 

Martius a true soldier 
and captain : 29 36- 
42 

Martius after the bat- 
tle : 46 91 

Martius and his moth- 
er : 5 36-37 

Martius and Tarquin : 
70 89-90 

Martius and the bribe: 
43 36-40 



Martius and the flat- 
tering tribunes: 20 9 

Martiusandthegreedy 
soldiers : 32 8 

Martius and the muti- 
nous people : 190 71 

Martius and the retir- 
ing Romans : 30 43- 
45 

Martius at Tullus Au- 
fidius's house : 140 
24-25 

Martiuscondemned to 
die : 102 213-214 

Martius goes to An- 
tium disguised: 137l 

Martius in childhood : 
86 231 

Martius joined with 
Tullus: 159 14 

Martius receives am- 
bassadors : 166 63 

Martius weeps: 182 
196 

Martius's answer to 
Volumnia: 181 186- 
189 

meeting of Martius 
and Tullus : 141 51, 
142 55-102 

Menenius Agrippa: 
647 

on flatterers : 66 19-21 

people pleasers : 91 
43-45 

prayer of Martius: 33 
20-23, 37 58-59 



reasons for not giving 

corn gratis : 96 120- 

128 
sedition in the city: 

4 15-23 
stout heart: 115 78 
The belly . . . laughed : 

9 102 
the Consuls' tribe: 43 

36-40 
the Coriolans: 28 14-15 
the Martians : 87 233- 

240 
the Roman ladies at 

Volsces' camp : 173 

20-37 
the temple of Fortune: 

183 207, 186 2-7 
Tullus demands ac- 
count from Martius: 

187 1-5 
Valeria: 175 64 
valiantness : 5 38 
Volsces afterthe death 

of Martius: 195 155 
Volsces join Martius : 

159 1-6 
Volumnia a widow: 

180 162-163 
Volumnia's plea: 177 

92 
Volumnia's victory : 

181 186-189 
voting by Tribes : 120 

14-18 
wounds of Martius ; 
73 133-135 



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